
Class Jf3f2_ 
Book -Mil 



Jan. Sess. 1828.] [Doc . N( , t g 

REPORT 



JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE 



&tmtt autt Thorns: of MtwmHtoMm, 



STATE OF MAINE, 

IN RELATION TO THE 

NORTH-EASTERN BOUNDARY 

OF THE STATE. 



Printed by Order of the Legislature. 
*- .'. 

PORTLAND, 

rUOMAS TODf), PRINTER TO THE STATE. 

1828 



STATE OF MAINE. 



In Senate, Jan. 4, 1828. 

Ordered: That so much of the Communication made by 
the Governor to the Legislature, with the accompanying 
documents as relates to the North-Eastern Boundary of this 
State, be referred to 

Messrs. Megquier, 

Williams, and 
Hathaway, 

With such of the House as may join, and that the Commit- 
tee be authorized to cause such of the accompanying docu- 
ments to be'published, as in their opinion the public good 
requires. 

Read and passed. 

Sent down for concurrence. 

ROBERT P. DUNLAP, President. 



House of Representatives, Jan. 5, 1828. 
Read and concurred, and 

Messrs. Deane, of Ellsworth, 
Fuller, of Augusta, 
Vance of Baring, 
Carpenter, of Howland, 
Burnham, of Unity, 
Were joined. 

JOHN RUGGLES, Speaker. 



REPORT. 



The aforesaid Joint Select Confmittee of the Senate and 
House of Representatives of the State of Maine, have consid- 
ered the whole subject submitted to them by the aforesaid 
Order, to wit : All the Governor's Message which relates to 
the North-Eastern Boundary, which is as follows, to wit: — 
" In the number of our resources is one so conspicuous, that 
it must early attract your notice. It is that of a wild and 
fertile territory, embracing about six millions of acres. It is 
not necessary now to attempt to show how evidently it is 
subject to your jurisdiction, nor to speak of its distinguished 
natural advantages which impart to it the capacity of sustain- 
ing some hundred thousand yeomen. Valuable, or rather 
invaluable, as it is, we ought without hesitation to surrender 
it if we cannot with justice support that claim to it which 
unfortunately now stands opposed under the difficulty of an 
ingenuity which has endeavored to obscure the line, and an 
opposition, which, I trust, you will dispassionately authorize 
to be resisted under the limitations of a cautious and prudent, 
yet decided policy. 

" The Government of the State, with the exemplary mode- 
ration always creditable and necessary, has for years re 
frained from the exercise of many of its rights. It has been 
induced to do so, as may be inferred, from its anxious desire to 
accommodate to the wishes of the federal administration, and 
its disposition to avoid collisions, inevitably unfortunate, in 
any result. At the same time, it cannot abandon its obliga- 
tions, its title deeds, and its rights. It cannot allow the citi- 
zens to be incarcerated in foreign gaols. The State would 
shrink most dreadfully under the shame of such a submission. 
For the sake of being fully informed, it has for several years 
solicited the documents possessed by the general government 
in relation to this subject. It is with great confidence that 
I urge its consideration now, inasmuch as all that has been 
requested has been supplied agreeably to what was understood 
to be the wish of the last Legislature. That invaluable mass 
of documents, now in the Secretary's Office, and the copies 
of communications between myself and others contain nearly 
all that I can offer. The delicate nature of the subject indu- 
ces me to ask a particular examination in reference to publi- 



cation, if that shall be proposed, yet, there is no wish on my 
part that what has been written by myself shall be disposed 
of in one way in preference to the other. On the most 
thoughtful revisal, I find no past deviations from my existing 
sentiments, and am bound to sustain the most rigorous respon- 
sibility. 

■ Amidst the views urged, has been a primary one of that 
nature, requiring it? being submitted to you for correction, if 
desired. It is in relation to the undefined and perhaps unde- 
finable line of rights between States' and United States' 
authority, along which construction is constantly urging dis- 
puted claims, and, in general, has much the advantage in 
irruptions upon the States. The Executive of the Union has 
been considered a> disposed to sub-nit the question of the 
boundary of Maine, with a perfectly friendly intent, but 
without regarding her as a party, to the umpirage of a foreign 
authority. The submission itself admits the possibility of an 
unjust and disastrous decision. While it is not presumed to 
cast a shadow of suspicion on the integrity with which that 
authority may be exercised, nor upon the motives of any 
person whomsoever, it has, nevertheless, been deemed a suita- 
ble precaution to urge the following propositions. It cannot 
be arrogance which asserts them as materials of a monument 
of the rights of our employers, which will become firm by 
time, when propeil) combined and cemented by your reflec- 
tions. If any feeling has been displayed on my part, it has 
been indulged with a view of eliciting results which it was 
believed would be salutary and acceptable. At the same time 
there has been no intention to abandon those prudential con- 
siderations entirely consistent with a free assertion of what 
it might be supposed the people, through their Representa- 
tive-, would eventually approve and sustain. 

" At the period of 'forming the treaty of 1783, Massachu- 
setts and the other Colonies were independent of each other, as 
to territorial rights. The United States, as such, did not 
f • \ i • t 

" Although the colonies constituted common agents to form 
that treats', the territorial rights secured did not, by virtue 
of that instrument, accrue to the nation, but were merely 
acknowledged and confirmed by it to the existing individual 
corporations, according to pre-existing grants, crown lands 
(ml- I. in. j excepted. 

" V» hen the Union of the States was framed, in that happy 
arrangement we are still permitted to witness, and which crea- 
ted a •<•• eral « lardianship, without extinguishing a particular 
independence, the compact left Massachusetts the Proprietor. 



as one party* in severalty of all her soil. She held it fully 
with undiminished interest, and has conceded her jurisdic- 
tional control only by that magnanimous act, usually called 
the Separation, which received validity from the concurrence 
of Congress. 

" The Union having no right to cede the territory, the 
treaty making power, as only a constituent part, cannot exer- 
cise a function beyond the grasp of the delegated power over 
the whole, nor, indirectly, by an umpire, do what it could 
not accomplish without ; that is, consent to the alienation, 
or the possibility of an alienation of territory, which I will 
show is solemnly acknowledged through the President, to be 
ours. 

" It has, therefore, been believed to be due this State to 
advance the doctrine that the submission of its boundary, 
to an umpire, unknown to herself, and upon terms not confided 
to her consideration, will leave her at liberty to act upon the 
result as to the country and herself may be dictated by the 
most just and patriotic inclinations. Yet if it be true that the 
fifth article of the Treaty of Ghent has involved much of 
federal authority, beyond the limits which many eminent 
statesmen have contended to be the true ones, as the treaty 
exists, the delicacy of the case, in relation to public faith, 
ought to have some influence upon our assertion of our claim, 
although an entire concession be expected. It ought to be 
distinctly understood that there is a perfect harmony of senti- 
ment with the federal administration in a most essential 
particular, in regard to which the language of Mr. Clay, the 
Secretary of State, is calculated to be highly satisfactory. 
It is as follows : The Government of the United States is fully 
convinced that the right to the territory is with us and not with 
Great Britain. The convictions of Maine are not stronger in 
respect to the validity oj our title, than are those which are enter- 
tained by the President.'''' 

" Whatever may be the character of the proposed umpi- 
rage, it seems necessary to adopt some rule of procedure 
as to the duties to be discharged before its results shall 
be known, and I cannot but hope to learn from you, in some 
way, what measures you will consider to be proper, if such 
acts as that of the arrest and incarceration of Baker shall be 
repeated. There will be no wish to go beyond your direc- 
tion, nor to fall short of it ; and, thus far, while the object 
has been to give no assent to injustice, there has been a steady 
view to your contemplated consultations and probable com- 
mands. It was an arrest which the testimony seems to me to 
condemn ; yet it cannot but be hoped that the neighboring 



G 

government will place right the hasty acts of unthinking 
agents, and that we, expecting tiiat generous conduct which 
springs from tne character of an Englishman, should not sud- 
denly and unnecessarily engage with him in contentions. 
"While we were acquiescing in the abeyance of our rights, as 
connected only with property, the call for interposition was 
not imperative, but when unauthorized power was applied 
to tie persons of our citizens along the Aroostook and in other 
places, it seemed proper to ascertain the facts, in order to 
submit them to your consideration and to tiiat of Massachu- 
setts and the nation, both of which will feel an interest, not 
only in the protection of our fellow citizens in Maine, but 
in the other relations of the subject. A letter was, therefore, 
sent to the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, contain- 
ing a. request tuat he would cause information of the facts 
relating to the arrest of Baker, to be returned.' While in his 
reply he acknowledged, in favorable terms, the amicable 
disposition professed by this government, so far as, on the oc- 
casion, it was represented, he declined to make the explana- 
tions requested, excepting to those with whom he is directed 
to correspond, or under whose orders he is placed. 

"•It must be known to you that in addition to the means above 
mentioned, Mr. Daveis was appointed to obtain the information 
which all have appeared to consider desirable. From what 
has transpired there is no doubt in my mind of the intention of 
the government of New Brunswick to extend its jurisdiction 
and to confirm it, if possible, over the whole disputed territory. 

tk I cannot but profess to you the disposition on my own part, 
subject to your direction, to offer some difficulties against such 
a course ; but it is not to be doubted, that the United States' 
government and that of Great Britain, will perceive, on being 
furni -bed the facts, that the government of New Brunswick 
Ins advanced beyond the line of tenable ground, and <eemj not 
to have listened to those recommendations of mutual forbear- 
ance, which have been rung so loud that we did not notice its 
invasions. 

"Another of the objects of the mission of Mr. Daveis was to 
obtain the release of Mr. Baker, whose arrest was thought to 
be not only cognizable by the United States, but by the par- 
ticular State of which he is a citizen. His confinement in t he 
gaol at Frederickton was an act of power, which, considering 
the nature of the facts as far as developed, required early at- 
tention, mid the course pursued was accordingly adapted, not, 
however, without a careful examination of principles and pre- 
cede its. If von --h ill think the measure as involving any 
excesi in the exertion of State power, it would seem to be de- 



sirable not to allow it to pass without the expression of your 
dissent, which would be received, on my part, with the utmost 
respect and deference. 

" The Minister Plenipotentiary of his Britannic Majesty has 
communicated to Mr. Clay, what are called by the former 
'sufficient proofs of the decided resolution of his Majesty's 
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick to maintain the dis- 
puted territory in the same state in which his Excellency re- 
ceived it after the conclusion of the treaty of Ghent. It 
certainly would not be desirable to put his Majesty's Lieuten- 
ant Governor's decided resolution to the test on this point, but 
it may be imperatively required to determine how far the 
treaty of Ghent and previous actual jurisdiction may sanction 
his authoritative approaches beyond the terms of that treaty, 
without a reasonable expostulation, not however to be follow- 
ed by any unnecessary resort to forcible resistance. 

"■ It is not to be anticipated that the deplorable event of a 
war with Great Britain may not occur again. If that melan- 
choly result of human frailty shall be produced, the situation 
of Maine will require great resolution and activity. The 
concentration of the British forces with the view of dividing 
the Union, by an occupation of New York, will not be at- 
tempted again, but the seaboard and the interior frontier of 
Maine will be the one a line of maratime invasion, and the 
other of excursions and incursions according to the emergen- 
cies relating to our defence. The effort will be probably to 
cut off this State, or at least for this we ought to be prepared, 
so as not to admit any repetition here of such scenes as occur- 
red during the last war. It would appear to be proper 
to solicit of the general government the erection of some 
strong fortresses on our interior frontier. Its own dispo- 
sition and the obvious utility of works so situated, in an- 
ticipation of others where the country is better guarded, 
would, it may be hoped, assure to a representation of this 
nature, a favorable reception." 

The Committee aforesaid ask leave to observe, they are un- 
able to perceive, that there is any thing uncertain in our 
claim, arising out of any obscurity in the treaty of 1783, or 
any of the documentary evidence, or arguments and discus- 
sions which led to the description of the boundary therein 
contained ; nor are they informed that the government of 
Great Britain, or any of their negociatiors ever claimed the 
northern part of this State as a right, but requested it as a 
cession ; it is therefore concluded, that their strong and per- 
severing endeavors to excite doubts, and embarrass the subject, 
are elicited by the zeal of their essayists, and their subordinate 



8 

agents, or negotiators, who, while they recommend themselves 
to the (pother government, as zealous, loyal subjects, and 
faithful agents, are disposed at the same time to gratify other 
feelings, arising from other causes. 

This subject has on several occasions occupied the attention 
of the government of this State, and has been the subject of 
reports, and resolves, and all may have been done which the 
state of knowledge on that subject rendered proper, or the 
occasion required. The subject is now, from a variety of 
considerations, assuming a more interesting character. Such 
is the state of public inquiry, that it may be expected of this 
Legislature, that they will fairly and candidly spread the evi- 
dence of title, and the subject of controversy, before the peo- 
ple, to the end that they may see, examine, and reason for 
themselves, and form theirown conclusions. This, however, 
would be deemed unnecessary, were it not the fact, that what 
is said, and much of the documentary evidence touching the 
boundaries of the provinces, prior to the treaty of 1783, is in 
the hands, and within the reach of very few. 

With a view therefore of spreading the evidence of our 
title fairly before the people of this State, and by the same 
means, before the people of the United States and the world ; 
it is proposed, to pursue generally the chronological order of 
events, noticing particularly, such as have any direct relation 
to the subject, and incidentally, such as tend chiefly to show 
the connexion between them. 

The discovery of America produced an excitement, and a 
spirit of maratime enterprise among the nations of Europe. — 
Cabot sailed in 1497 under the orders of Henry VII. of Eng- 
land, and discovered Newfoundland, and North America, and 
coasted from Labrador to Florida. The spirit of discovery 
thus early excited in England, subsided, and was not revived 
for many years. The French prosecuted voyages of discovery 
to North America, and as early as 1635 attempted a settle- 
ment on the St. Lawrence. From this period the voyages of 
the Europeans to the Northern parts of North America, were 
principally confined to the fisheries, and to the prosecution of 
a trade in furs, with the Natives, and it was not until 1604, 
that any settlement was commenced which became perma- 
nent. 

In 1603, Henry fourth of France, granted to De Monts, all 
the Country in North America between the fortieth and forty 
sixth decrees of North Latitude, by the name of Acadie. De 
Moiils, to secure to himself the benefits of his Grant, with 
Champlain and other adventurers, fitted out vessels and sailed 
for America ; they first touched on the eastern coast of the 



9 

grant — then sailed round Cape Sable to the bay of Fundy, 
touched at Port Royal, now Annapolis, at the St. John, which 
river they sailed up some distance, and thence followed the 
coast to the mouth of a river, which they afterwards calied 
St. Croix, where upon a small island they erected houses and 
defences, and established themselves for the winter. In the 
spring they, for some cause determined on quitting the island, 
and took what they could of the materials of the buildings, 
and moved, and established themselves at Port Royal, where 
they lived and prosecuted the business of their settlement for 
several years. 

In 1607 the British commenced a settlement in Virginia, 
which became permanent. As early as 1613, for the purpose 
of getting rid of their neighbors, who might at some future 
period annoy them, as well as for asserting their claim to th* 
whole country, and appropriating it to themselves or the Bri- 
tish government, they fitted out a small expedition under Sir 
Samuel Argall to dislodge the French in Acadie. Sir Samuel 
disl >dged the French at Mount Desert, destroyed all which De 
Monts had left on the Island where he first wintered, and cap- 
tured the French at Port Royal. Some of the French went 
to Canada, and some united with the natives The expedition 
was attended with no important result, further, than it 
probably suggested to Sir William Alexander, the idea of ob- 
taining a grant of the Country — and therefore after companies 
had in England, obtained grants of various parts of North 
America, to which they gave their favorite names, such as Vir- 
ginia and New England, he obtained a grant, which, from its 
relative situation to New England, or to perpetuate the name 
of his native country, he called Nova Scotia.* 

The grant was made in 1621 by James I. and contained 
" all the lands of the continent from Cape Sable, thence 
along the coast of St. Mary's Bay, thence across the bay of 
Fundy to the river St. Croix, to its remotest spring head, 
thence by an imaginary line northward to the river St. Law- 
rence, thence by the shores of the river to the havenf or 
shore commonly called Gaspe, and thence southward, &c. 
Sir William seems to have engaged with some zeal, and in- 
curred great expense in fitting out two vessels to take pos- 
session of and settle his grant ; but all his efforts produced 
little or no effect, and he abandoned it, and in 1630, sold a 
part, or all of his grant to La Tour, a subject of France. In 
the year 1628 or 9, Canada and Acadie were both captured 
by the British, and were restored in 1632 by the treaty of St, 



See Appendix 

2 



10 

Germoins. In 1652, the British fitted out an expedition and 
took possession of Penobscot, St. John, Port Royal, and 
several other places. In 1655 a treaty of commerce was 
entered into between the French and British, and the question 
of title to Acadie was referred to commissioners. 

*In 1663, Charles II. granted to his brother the Duke of 
York, the country called the Duke of York's territory, next 
adjoining New Scotland, and extending from the river St. 
Croix to Pemaquid, and up the river thereof to the furthest 
head of the same as it tendeth northward ; and extending 
thence to the river Kimbequin, and upwards by the shortest 
course to the river of Canada northward. 

In 1667, by the treaty of Breda, Acadie was again restored 
to France. In 1689, another war broke out, and the follow- 
ing year Sir William Phipps conquered Port Royal, and 
other French ports in Acadie. 

fOct. 7, 1691, by the charter of William and Mary, the 
real Province of Massachusetts Bay was erected, consisting 
of the former provinces of Massachusetts Bay, New Plymouth, 
Nova Scotia, District of Maine, and all the territory between 
Nova Scotia and the District of Maine and the river Sagada- 
hock, and every part thereof, and the St. Lawrence or great 
river of Canada. It will at once be perceived, that the pro- 
vince of Massachusetts Bay was in the northern part, bounded 
west by a line drawn north from the westernmost head of the 
waters of the Sagadahock, to the river St. Lawrence, north 
b\ the river St. Lawrence, east and south by the Atlantic 
Ocean. The charter contained a limitation in the exercise 
of the granting power, as to all the tract of country lying 
beyond the Sagadahock, but it contained no other limitations 
to its exercise of sovereign power, which were not contained 
in all other charters granting powers of or establishing govern- 
ments. Massachusetts exercised some acts of jurisdiction 
over Nova Scotia, appointed some civil and other officers, 
but it being so distant, and she having so many other posts, and 
such extent of other frontier to defend, and the expense being 
so great, which she must incur for her protection against the 
i milts of the French and natives, that she was not solicitous 
to retain it, and in the course of a few years gave it up, and 
the British Government made it a separate province. 

In 1697, by the treaty of Uy; wick, Acadie was again resto- 
red t«. tbe French. In 1702, war was ayain declared between 
Fiance and Great Pritoin, and Acadie in the course of the war 
was again captured by the British, and was, in 1713, by the 

* Appendix 2. Appendix 3. 



11 

treaty of Utrecht, ceded by the French to the British by th*r 
description of Nova Scotia, otherwise called Acadie, accord- 
ing to its ancient limits, with some reservations of islands, 
such as Cape Breton and the islands in the St. Lawrence 
which were not ceded. For many years Nova Scotia or 
Acadie thus ceded, seems not to have engaged much of the 
attention of the British Government. They did in 1719, 
appoint Richard Phillips governor,* who, for want of subjects, 
had to select his council from his garrison. The French 
inhabitants lived in a state of independence, without acknow- 
ledging the right or authority of the British colonial govern- 
ment ; and the object of the British seems to have been to 
keep possession of the country, to the end, that they might 
hold it, and extinguish the claim of France. By the treaty 
of Aix la Chapelle in 1745, commissioners were provided 
to be appointed, to settle the boundaries of Nova Scotia or 
Acadie, as ceded by the treaty of Utrecht, about the limits 
of which, the British and French could not agree. Col. 
Cornwallis was made Governor of Nova Scotia or Acadief 
in 1749, and came with soldiers of the late army and others, 
between three and four thousand, and settled and built the 
town of Halifax. 

Commissioners provided to be appointed by the treaty of 
Aix la Chapelle were appointed in 1750, and began and 
continued their discussions for some years, the British con- 
tending for, and endeavoring to maintain one construction 
of the treaty of Utrecht, and the French another construc- 
tion. The discussions were broken off by the war of 1756. 
The treaty of Paris, of February 10, 1763, which terminated 
the war of 1756, ceded both Canada and Nova Scotia to the 
British in full sovereignty. At this time the power of the 
French became extinct, and they never made any subsequent 
effort .to regain it. Until this period, although with the 
British, Nova Scotia had been the subject of grants, of con- 
quests, and cessions, they always recognised the St. Lawrence 
as its northern boundary, never extending their claim beyond, 
or stopping short of it. When Canada became a territory of 
Great Britain, it became necessary for her to establish a 
government for it, and the King, for that purpose, by his 
Proclamation of the 7th of October, 1763, among other go- 
vernments, established the government of Quebec,:): bounded as 
follows : " on the Labrador coast by the river St. John, and 
from thence, by a line drawn from the head of that river, 
through the lake St. John, to the south end of Lake Nipissim, 
from whence the said line, crossing the river St. Lawrence, 

* Appendix 4. t Appendix 5. J Appendix 6. 



12 

and the lake Champlain, in 45 degrees of north latitude, passes 
at ng the high lands which divide the rivers that empty themselves 
inU the saia rhet Af. Laurence jrom those which jail imto the sea, 
and also along tlie north coast of the bay des Chaleurs, and the 
coast iif tlie gull of St. Lawrence to Cape Hosiers, and from 
thence crossing the mouth of the river St Lawrence, by the 
west end of the island Anticosti, terminates at the aforesaid 
river St John." 

From this description it is evident, that it was the intention 
of tlie crown, m establishing the Province of Quebec, to em- 
brace within its territory, after passing Lake Champlain, the 
sources ol all the streams which flowed into the St. Law- 
reine, and for that purpose, the most fit and appropriate 
words are adopted-. It cannot be supposed that it was intended 
by this description, that the line, a it run eastward from lake 
Champlain, was to pursue a range of mountains, or to run 
from peak to peak of the highest mountains, between the 
river St. Lawrence on the one hand, and the Atlantic Ocean 
on the other. The line was the high lands, What high laud- ? 
The high lands which divide the waters ; any land therefore 
of any elevation, whether plains or mountains, hills or dales, 
which are at the sources of the respective rivers, flowing 
into the St. Lawrence and the sea, are the high lands by 
the proclamation intended, and the most apt words are used to 
describe them. This line leaves all the waters of the Con- 
necticut, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Penobscot, St. John and 
Ristifiouche, falling into the sea on one hand, and the streams 
flowing into the lake Memphremagog. and through it into the 
river St. Lawience, the Chaudierre, the Ouelle, Green, 
Att is, and many other rivers falling into the river St. Law- 
rence on the other. The line, it will be observed, pursues 
the northern coast of the bay of Chaleurs, and not the middle 
of the bay ; there cannot be any pretence therefore, that the 
river Ristigouche was within the meaning of this proclama- 
tion, a river flowing into the St. Lawrence, but, on the 
cc i tiary, it is clearly a river falling into the Atlantic Ocean. 

Prior to this proclamation, the provinces of Massachusetts 
Bay and Nova Scotia were bounded north by the river St. 
Lawrence ; the proclamation varied the boundary by trans- 
ferring it, from the shores of the river St Lawrence, to the 
sources of the rivers which emptied theinselve< into it ; and 
the ah resaid provinces were then bounded north by the same 
line. t<> wit, the range of land, be what it might, high or low, 
in which the rivers respectively had their sources, leaving 
the rivers St. John and Restigouche partly in the province 

* Appendix 6. 



13 

of Massachusetts Bay, and partly in the province "of Nova 
Scotia, the sources being in the former, and the mouths in the 
latter province. This line has not since been altered, except 
between lake Champlain and Connecticut river, where, in- 
stead of pursuing the high lands, it was fixed to the parallel 
of forty five degrees north latitude. 

* The line thus established by proclamation, has often since 
by the acts of the Crown and Parliament of Great Britain, 
been recognized. October, 1763, in the commission to Mon- 
tague Wilmot, revoking the commission to a former gover- 
nor, and constituting him to be Captain General and Com- 
mander in Chief of the Province of Nova Scotia, is the 
following description of boundary : " Bounded on the west- 
ward by a line drawn from Cape Sable across the entrance 
of the bay of Fnndy, to the mouth of the river St. Croix, by the 
said river to its source, and by a line drawn north from thence to the 
southern boundary of our Colony oj Quebec ; to the northward 
by the said boundary, as Jar as the western extremity of the bay de$ 
Chaleurs, <.$<-c." 

f In the commission to William Campbell, in 1767, there 
is the same description of boundaries of the Province of Nova 
Scotia, and the same are again repeated in the commission to 
Francis Legge in 1771. The proclamation of 1763 was 
farther recognized and confirmed by the act of Parliament 
of the 14th of George III. by which it is enacted, " that all 
the territories, islands, and countries in North America, 
belonging to the crown of Great Britain, bounded on the 
south, by a line from the bay of Chaleurs, along the highlands 
which divide the rivers that empty themselves into the St. 
Lawrence, from those which fall into the sea, to a point in 
forty-five degrees of northern latitude, on the eastern bank 
of Connecticut river. "J The limits of the several provinces 
were the same at the time of concluding the treaty of 1783. 

The question may well be asked, where was the northwest 
angle of Nova Scotia, and the northeast angle of the province 
of Massachusetts Bav, before the treaty ? Had Nova Scotia 
two northwest angles ? It has already been shown by the 
charter to Sir William Alexander, that the northwest angle 
of his grant was on the shore of the river St. Lawrence, and 
although by the charter of William and Mary, in J 691, it 
became a part of the province of Massachusetts Bay, when 
it was afterwards separated from it, its boundaries were the 
same as before, and its northwest angle still on the shores 
of the St. Lawrence. Here the angle remained fixed and 
stationary until 1763, when the boundaries were transferred 



Appendix 7. t Appendix 8. t Appendix ft 



from the shore to the land from winch the streams falling 
into the river St. Lawrence flowed and had their source. 
Nova Scotia had therefore but one northwest angle. Here 
the line became fixed and permanent, and on this line, and 
to the northward of the heads of all the streams which did 
not flow into the river St. Lawrence, Avas the northwest 
angle of Nova Scotia.* 

When the boundaries between the provinces of Quebec 
and Massachusetts Bay, were thus clearly defined and limited 
to that range of land, in which the streams falling into the 
St. Lawrence at the northward, and the St. John at the 
southward, and continued easterly to the head of the bay of 
Chalcurs, and southwestwardly to the head of Connecticut 
river ; and when the boundary between the provinces of 
Nova Scotia and Massachusetts Bay were thus clearly denned 
and limited to the river St. Croix, and a line drawn north 
from it to the aforesaid range of land, the boundary of the 
government of Quebec ; the repeated acts of arbitrary power 
exercised by Great Britain towards the provinces comprising 
the thirteen United States, caused them to assert their rights ; 
they maintained them successfully ; and to terminate the 
unprofitable struggle, Great Britain acknowledged their 
existence as an independent nation. When their existence as 
an independent iration was thus secured, it became necessary 
for the two nations, to prevent new and unprofitable contests, 
to fix and establish boundaries between themselves. This was 
first done in the provisional articles of peace concluded at 
Paris, November 30, 1782, and by the provisions of that 
instrument, were incorporated into, and became a part of the 
definitive treaty of Peace concluded at Paris, September 3d, 
1783. 

The acknowledgement of independence, and the boundaries 
established, are described as follows, to wit : — 

" Article 1st. His Britannic Majesty acknowledges the 
said United States, to wit. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be 
free, sovereign and independent States ; and that he treats 
with them as such ; and for himself, his heirs and successors, 
relinquishes all claims to the government, propriety, and 
territorial rights of the same and every part thereof. And 
that all disputes which might arise in future on the subject 
of the boundaries of the said United States may be prevented, 
it is hereby agreed and declared that the following are and 
skal] be their boundaries, to wit : 



15 

" Article 2. From the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, to wit, 
tliat angle which is Jormed by a line drawn due north from the 
source of the St. Croix river to the highlands, along the said high- 
lands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the St. 
Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to the 
northwesternmost head of Connecticut river, thence down along 
the middle of that river to the forty-fifth degree of north lati- 
tude ; from thence by a line due west on said latitude until 
it strikes the river Iroquois or Cataraguy ; thence along the 
middle of said river into Lake Ontario, through the middle 
of said lake, until it strikes the communication by water 
between that lake and lake Erie ; thence along the middle 
of said communication into lake Erie, through the middle 
of said lake, until it arrives at the water communication 
between that lake and Huron ; thence along the middle of 
said water communication between tiiat lake and lake Supe- 
rior ; thence through lake Superior, northward of the isles 
Royal and Philipeaux, to the long lake ; thence through the 
middle of said long lake, and the communication between it 
and the lake of the Woods, to the said lake of the Woods ; 
thence through said lake to the most northwestern point 
thereof ; and from thence on a due west course to the river 
Mississippi ; thence by a line to be drawn along the middle 
of the said river Mississippi, until it shall intersect the north- 
ern most part of the thirty-first degree of north latitude. 
South, by a line to be drawn due east from the termination of 
the line last mentioned, in the latitude of thirty-one degrees 
north of the ecmator, to the middle of the river Apalachicola 
or Catahouche ; thence along the middle thereof to its junc- 
tion with the Flint river ; thence straight to the head of St. 
Mary's river ; thence down along the middle of St. Mary's 
river to the Atlantic Ocean. East, by a line to be drawn along 
the middle of the river St. Croix, from its mouth in the bay o f Fundi) 
to its source, and from its source directly north, to the aforesaid 
high lands, which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlantic Ocean 
from those which fall into the river St. Lawrence, comprehending 
all islands within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of 
the United States, and lying between the lines to be drawn due 
east from the points where the aforesaid boundaries between 
Nova Scotia on the one part, and East Florida on the other,shall 
respectively touch the bay of Fundy, and *he Atlantic Ocean, 
excepting such islands as now are, or heretofore have been 
within the limits of the said province of Nova Scotia." 

The first article describes by name, the several States 
composing the United States, and had the treaty stopped here 
without describing their boundaries more minutely, there 
could have been no doubt but that all the territory embrace*! 



16 

within the charter limits, or within the jurisdiction of Mas- 
sachusetts Bay, passed by that description. Here from the 
use of the term Massachusetts, was an evident intention to 
conform to the lines as they existed before the treaty, which 
have been already shown, from the documents herein before 
cited, which are of that clear and explicit character which 
relieves the subject from all uncertainty and doubt. 

But when the subject is still farther pursued and the boun- 
daries are more minutely described, what was clear before, is 
still made more clear and explicit. To be more particular — 
The northwest angle of Nova Scotia, after it is ascertained by 
the rule given in the treaty, is the point from which the nor- 
thern line starts. " From the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, 
to wit — that angle which is formed by a line drawn due north 
from the source of the river St. Croix to the high lands." — 
Here we may ask wbat angle was intended ? Was it an angle 
to be formed on the side line of the province, one hundred or 
more miles from the real and true northwest angle of Nova 
Scotia ? or was the real and true angle of the province, at the 
point where its western line intersected the line of the prov- 
ince of Quebec ? The true construction is too obvious to ad- 
mit a doubt. It is perfectly clear from the plain and most nat- 
ural and obvious construction of the language used, that by the 
northwest angle of Nova Scotia was truly intended the north- 
western extremity of that province. 

The description then proceeds " along the said highlands 
which divide those rivers that empty into the river St. Law- 
rence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean." The 
idea that the words of the treaty require a range of mountains 
to form the line, is totally- false and absurd. If the commission- 
ers intended to describe a line pursuing the highest range of 
mountains between the Atlantic on the one hand, and the river 
St Lawrence on the other, they would have used the terms 
fittest for such description, and not have used the words which 
plainly and distinctly were intended to embrace any height of 
laud, from the lowest to any other elevation, provided it did 
divide the waters falling into the river St. Lawrence, from 
those falling into the Atlantic Ocean. If mountains were 
found there, they were intended, if there were no mountains 
or hills, and the lands only ascended gently from the river St. 
Lawrence, and again descended towards the main streams fall- 
ing into the Atlantic, constituting in fact a long and extended 
plain, from the highest parts of which the streams run north- 
wardly and westwardly into the river St. Lawrence, and 
southerly and easterly into the Atlantic — such a plain is the 
highland truly intended by the treaty, and the line is on that 
part of the plain from which the waters flow in different di- 



17 

rections — If the lands are only high enough for the water sim- 
ply to pass off in different directions, as completely and ex- 
actly corresponds with the description in the treaty, and are 
the highlands truly and eminently intended by it. 

The treaty describes but two classes of rivers, as hav- 
ing any connexion with this part of the boundaries of the Uni- 
ted States, to wit — such as flow into the river St. Lawrence 
and those which fall into the Atlantic. Although the river 
St. Lawrence itself falls into the Atlantic Ocean, it is alluded 
to in a peculiar manner, to distinguish it from all other rivers, 
and to place it and its tributary streams in opposition to them, 
whether they flowed into Long Island Sound, Kennebec bay, 
Penobscot bay, the s;reat Massachusetts bay, the Bay of Fun- 
dy, or the Bay of Chaleur — or into any other part of the At- 
lantic Ocean. The language of the treaty being thus clear 
and explicit, it leaves no doubt on the mind, that the highlands 
of the treaty which divide the waters, was intended that 
range of lands, whether high or low, in which the tributaries 
of the St. Lawrence have their sources and from which they 
flow. To search, therefore, for mountain ranjres, or for the 
greatest height of land, between the river St. Lawrence and 
the Atlantic Ocean, to fulfil the terms of the treaty, is absurd 
and preposterous. In the latter part of the article quoted, in 
describing the east boundary, the descriptive language of the 
first part of the article is nearly repeated " East by a line 
to be drawn along the middle of the river St. Croix, from its 
mouth in the Bay of Fundy to its source, and from its source 
directly north to the aforesaid highlands which divide Hie riv- 
ers which fall into the Atlantic Ocean from those which fall 
into the river St. Lawrence." 

Although, from the French having erected their crosses at 
the mouths of various rivers, and having at various time« °;iv- 
en them names from that circumstance and the part of the 
country between the rivers St. John and Penobscot not having 
been early settled, and seldom visited except for the purpose of 
traffic with the natives,doubts reasonably "might arise as to the 
true river St. Croix, still, when those doubts were removed, 
and the river clearly ascertained, a certain point was fixed, 
from which the due North lin e was to start and nothino- re- 
mained but to employ artists t survev the line and erect its 
monuments. This seems to have been a point conceded in the 
treaty of amity, commerce an f ] navigation, concluded at Lon- 
don Nov. 19, 1794, and in all the discussions under the fifth 
article thereof. 

Upon the clear and explicit language of the treaty itself, 
before any intelligent and impartial tribunal, the question 



18 

of boundary and jurisdiction might be safely placed, with a 
perfect confidence in the issue. But the treaty, though defi- 
nite in its descriptions, and requiring no foreign aid in its in- 
terpretation, only adopted the boundaries of provinces which 
had been defined, established and recognised by the crown and 
government of Great Britain, in their different acts from 1621 
to 1775, which will appear by a recurrence to the descriptive 
language contained in the patents, charters, proclamations, 
and acts of parliament, before quoted, and nearly in the same 
language. There can therefore, be no doubt, that the ministers 
of both governments, intended to adopt, and did adopt in the 
treaty of peace, as the boundary of the United States, the 
boundaries between the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia 
on the one part, and Massachusetts on the other part, which 
had been established by, and had long been familiar to the 
government of Great Britain. This construction, if any fur- 
ther support were necessary, is amply and fully supported by 
the discussions, which led to, and the manner in which the 
boundaries were concluded by the ministers who negotiated 
the provisonal treaty of peace. The negotiation was carried 
in form, with Mr. Oswald, who advised with Mr. Fitzherbert 
the minister to the court of Versailles, but in fact with the 
British Cabinet. Mr. Oswald did little or nothing more, not 
having authority, than to make such propositions as the Brit- 
ish Cabinet from time to time, according to circumstances, 
commanded, and receive such as our ministers made, until 
near the close of the discussion, when he was clothed with 
full powers. 

A provision in favor of the loyalists, was long and ardently 
urged by the British, and as ardently resisted by our ministers 
— the right to the fisheries was urged and insisted on by our 
ministers, and made a Sine qua non by a part, and resisted by 
the British; but finally adopted, both of which topics occupi- 
ed much time. The fixing and defining the boundaries of the 
United States also occupied much time, and no part or portion 
of it was so diligently examined and discussed, as the eastern 
and northern boundaries of the present State of Maine. The 
British in the first place insisted upon Piscataqua river as the 
eastern limit of the United States, then retreated to the Ken- 
nebec, and as a last resort would consent to go as far as the 
Penobscot. During this, as during the other parts of the dis- 
cussion, messengers were continually crossing and recrOssing 
the channel ; among the messengers and aids to the British, 
the ancient clerk of the board of trade and plantations appear- 
ed with volumes of records from that department, from which 
be read whatever there was which tended to show, the Dis- 
trict of Maine or any part of it,wa8 not before that time with- 



19 

in the jurisdiction of Massachusetts bay. The American 
ministers in their turn produced sundry acts of the colonial 
government of Massachusetts bay, shewing the jurisdiction 
which had been exercised by her, the report of the attorney 
and solicitor generals who had upon the matter being referred 
to them, decided upon the sundry petitions, applications, and 
claims n.ade for all the country between the Sagadahoc, (Ken- 
nebec,) and St Croix, and their decision, after examining all 
the evidence was against them, and in favor of the jurisdiction 
of Massachusetts bay. Also Governor Hutchinson's report 
wherein the right of Massachusetts bay is discussed, and a vol- 
ume of the doings of the Commissioners at Paris. 

When the British insisted upon limiting the United States 
to the Piseataqua, the Kennebec, or the Penobscot, the minis- 
ters of the U.iited States, or some of them insisted upon going 
to the St. John, but finally agreed to adhere to the charter of 
Massachusetts bay. That they did do that, most manifestly 
appears from a comparison of the treaty with the patents, 
charters, proclamations and acts of parliament herein before 
quoted. 

That it was the intention of the commissioners to adopt the 
boundaries between the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia 
on the one part, and Massachusetts bay on the other part, was 
expressly conceded and admitted on the part of the British in 
the discussions under the fifth article of the treaty of 1794. 
It even, if possible, was more than admitted, it is one if not the 
chief basis of the whole argument, and was enforced with 
great ability. 

The British agent in his memorial of claim says, " by the 
said 2d article herein before cited, of the treaty of peace, it 
appears to be clearly intended, that no part of the province of 
Nova Scotia should be therebv ceded by his said Majestv to 
the said United States. But that the same province of Nova 
Scotia, according to its ancient and former limits, should be 
and remain a part of the territory of his said Majesty, as his 
said Majesty then and before that time had held and possessed 
the same." Again in his argument he says, "to facilitate the 
investigation of the present question there appears to be one 
leading principle that appears to be explicitly established by 
the very terms of the treaty of peace, and which might in- 
deed be fairly considered as an axiom in the present discussion, 
to wit — That it was clearly intended by the second article of the 
treaty that no part of the province of Nova Scotia should be thereby 
ceded by his Majesty to the United States. The words made use 
of in that article will not admit of a different construction, 
the United States being expressly bounded east by the eastern 



20 

boundaries of the province of Nova Scotia. The description 
of the treaty in this part of the boundaries of tiie United 
States is a* follows : From the northwest angle of Nova Sco- 
tia, to wit, that angle which is formed by a line drawn due 
north from the source ot the St. Croix to the highlands which 
divide those rivers that empty themselves into the St. Law- 
rence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean." Now 
ii the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, agreeable to these clear 
and express words of the treaty, is formed by such a north 
liise from the source of the St. Croix to the highlands, that 
north line and those highlands must be the western and north- 
ern boundary of Nova Scotia." 

And the British agent in pursuing his argument further, 
says, that by the treaty of 1763, '"• all the French possessions 
upon the continent of North America w r ere ceded to Great 
B> itain; the province of Quebec was created and established 
by the royal proclamation of the 7th of October of that year, 
bounded on the south by the highlands which divide the rivers 
that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those 
winch fall into the Sea or jitlantic Ocean, theieby altering the 
northern boundary of the province of Nova Scotia from t::e 
southern shores oi the river St. Lawrence to those highlands, 
there being no longer am apprehension of disturbance from 
the French, it now became i ecessary for the settlement of the 
country that hod been in dispute between the two nations to 
ascertain the boundary line between the provinces of Nova 
Scotia and Massachusetts JJayt?? 

Having quoted in the preceding pages the main documents 
on which our title ie>ts, there will not, in the equel, be a ne- 
cessity for any thing more than general allusions By a re- 
currei ce to the history of that time, it will be seen that the 
treat) was opposed in the Bfitish parliament, but it was 
Opposed by thos-e who had lately been in power, and op- 
position to the ministry seems to have constituted the lead- 
in!' objection; so far as the treaty with the United States 
en n e in question the objections raised were on account of there 
being no provision in favor of the loyalists, and the right to 
the fisheries being secured to the United States, but there was 
no objection to it on account of the boundaries therein pre- 
scribed If the boundaries had not been such as were well 
known and familiar from their own records, the variance 
Would have produced scrutiny, and if any objection could 
have been raised against it on that account, it would have 
been brought forward to increase and enforce their other ob- 
jed inns. 

When fbe river St. Croix had been consecrated by De 
Moots in 1604, and by its being the first resting place of Eu- 



21 

ropeans, who became permanent settlers in the northern part? 
of North America; and when, from that circumstance, and 
from the expedition of Sir Samuel Ar^all, its name found its 
way across the Atlantic, yet from the imperfect geographical 
knowledge at thai time, the position of it could not have been 
known to the Europeans, and when, in the prosecution of the 
settlement of the country, other places became more alluring 
and the river St. Croix and the country on its borders did not 
become the scite of any settlement or military post, and the 
natives were there left to pursue their fisheries and the chase 
without molestation, and when, also, many other rivers on the 
coast were afterwards designated by the same name, and when 
all the maps prior to the American Revolution were imperfect, 
it is not wonderful that doubts, and serious doubts arose as to 
which river was intended as the boundary between the province 
of Massaciiusetts bay and the province of Nova Scotia. Hence, 
as the river St. Croix was a part of the boundary between the 
provinces, when the settlements on the coast began to ap- 
proach each other, it became necessary to ascertain the river 
truly intended, to prevent collision and the conflict of juris- 
diction. 

Before the American Revolution, and as early as the year 
1764, it had become the object of the serious research and in- 
vestigation of the respective provinces. From the researches 
of the agents of the province of Massachusetts bay, made on 
the spot, from the concurrent information of all the natives, 
and from all the maps in their possession, they were con- 
vinced that the river Magaguadavic was the river St. Croix, 
such was the tradition, and such was the conclusion. 

It generally was considered and believed in the province of 
Massachusetts bay^that it was bounded east by the river Maga- 
guadavic and by a line drawn due north from its source to the 
highlands which divide the rivers that empty themselves into 
the St. Lawrence from those which fall into the sea, or in 
other words, by a line drawn due north from the source of the 
said Magaguadavic river to the southern line of the province 
of Quebec, which had, by proclamation, been created the 
preceding year. The province of Nova Scotia on the other 
hand, believed, that the province extended westward to the 
river Schoodic, and was bounded west by the east line of the 
province of Massachusetts Bay, and north by the aforesaid 
south line of the province of Quebec Impressed with such 
a. belief, the Governor of Nova Scotia, as the settlements 
extended westward, and individuals wished for grants of land 
made them, and from the year 1765 to 1774, made sundry 
grants of land, lying between the Magaguadavic and the 
Schoodic Rivers. 



22 

Such were the different opinions entertained at the com- 
mencement of the revolution, and such they continued to be, 
when the provisional treaty and the treaty of peace were 
concluded. VViien the provinces were cut asunder, and 
cea. ed to be under the control of the same general sove- 
reignty, and after the close of the war, the loyalists settled 
on the eastern banks of the Schoodic, and extended their set- 
tlements between that, and the Magaguadavic rivers, under 
the grants of the province of Nova Scotia or the crown ; the 
attention of Massachusetts was aroused, and called distinctly 
to the subject, and the government, July 7, 1784, passed 
a " Resolve for appointing Agents to the eastern part of this 
State, to inform themselves of encroachments made by the 
British subjects ; and instructing them how to proceed. The 
Agents were appointed, repaired to the place where the dis- 
pute existed, viewed the rivers, and made all such other 
enquiries as were within their power, and became convinced 
that the river Mag aguadavic was the river St. Croix, of the 
treaty of 1783. In answer to enquiries made by the Lieuten- 
ant Governor of Massachusetts, dated Autevil, near Paris, 
October 25, 1784, the late John Adams, one of the negotiators 
of the provisional, and the treaty of peace, says "We had 
before us, through the whole negotiation, a varietv of maps, 
but it was Mitchell's map upon which was marked out the 
whole boundary line of the United States ; and the river St. 
Croix, which was fixed on was, upon that map, the nearest to 
the St. Johns, so that in all equity, good conscience and honor, 
the river next to the St. John's, should be the boundary. I 
am glad the General Court are taking early measures and 
hope they will pursue them steadily until the point is settled, 
which it may be now amicably ; if neglected long, it may 
be more difficult." Massachusetts became confirmed in her 
claim, as her inquiries and researches were extended. She 
preyed her claim upon the consideration of Congress, and 
upon the consideration of the governors of Nova Scotia and 
New-Brunswick. Representations were made by Congress 
to the government of Great Britain, through the minister of 
the United States. 

The different parties so far from settling the difficulties, 
probably became more and more confirmed in their different 
opinions. After the organization of the government of the 
United States under the constitution, by a resolve passed Feb. 
1, 1790, it was " Revived, that his excel lencv the Governor 
be, and he hereby is requested to write to the President of the 
United States, in behalf of this commonwealth, informing 
him that the subjects of his Britannic Majestv have made, and 



23 

still continue to make encroachments on the Eastern Boundary 
of this commonwealth, in the opinion of the legislature con- 
trary to the treaty of peace; and that his excellency be re- 
quested to forward such documents as may be necessary to 
substantiate the facts." Thus Massachusetts called on the 
government of the United States, to protect them in the pos- 
session of their territory. 

The doubts which had arisen, extended no farther than to 
what river was intended by the river St. Croix in the treaty of 
1 783 ; the treaty only describing it by its name, nor could they, 
for when that was settled the rule was clearly and distinctly 
given for finding the northwest angle of Nova Scotia. That 
is clearly implied in the first part of the fifth article of the 
treaty of 1794; for it says, "Whereas doubts have arisen 
what river was truly intended under the name of the river 
St. Croix, mentioned in the said treaty of peace, and forming 
a part of the boundary therein described, that question shall 
be referred to the final decision of commissioners." The same 
article made it the duty of the commissioners, " by a declara- 
tion under their hands and seals, to decide what river was the 
river St. Croix intended by the treaty, and further to describe 
the river and to particularize the latitude and longitude of its 
mouth and its source. If any other doubts could have existed, 
or if the residue of the line could not have been ascertained by 
a survey, or if it had not been considered that ascertaining 
the river St. Croix settled the whole dispute, and if such were 
not the convictions of the contracting parties, it is not unrea- 
sonable to suppose, that further provisions would have been 
introduced into the treaty. 

It was contended by the agent of the United States before 
the commissioners, that the river Magaguadavic was the river 
St. Croix truly intended by the treaty of 1783, and he found- 
ed his claims and argument on many depositions of the natives, 
and of the persons who first settled in that part of the country, 
on the examination and reports of agents on the letters and 
testimony of several other persons and on sundry maps. 

It was contended by the agent for his Britannic Majesty, 
that the river Scoudiac was the river St. Croix truly intended 
by the treaty of 1783, and he founded his argument on the 
grant to Sir William Alexander, Les Carbot and Champlains 
histories of the voyages of De Monts, and their description of 
the country, the commissions to Governors of Nova Scotia, 
from 1719 to 1771, the proclamation of 1763, and two acts of 
parliament of the fourteenth of George 3d, and sundry maps* 
and depositions. His argument and the facts and documents 
upon which he founded it, clearly admits and demonstrates. 

* See Appendix. ^ 



24 

that the only uncertainty was, as to what river was intended 
by the river St. Croix, and that from tne source of the river 
which the commissioners should decide and designate accord- 
ing to the 'treaty of i794, the eastern boundary line of the 
United States and the western boundary of the province of 
Nova Scotia must commence and continue due north to the 
highlands, to wit : the highlands between the river St. Law- 
rence and the Restigouche or the St. John, according as the 
source should be fixed further east or further west. He ex- 
pressly admits that the line due north from the St. Croix will, 
in any event, cross the river St John to the highlands, be- 
tween that, and the river St. Lawrence, to wit: the lands which 
divide the streams which flow into the St. Lawrence from 
those which fall into the Atlantic* 

The discussion was closed in 1 798. and the time had not then 
arrived, when from "cupidity," or a desire to establish a line 
from which they could attack the United States in the rear, 
while their navy should attack them on the sea board, when 
they were determined to acquire by effrontery or sophistry the 
territory, which they had sought in vain as a cession. 

The commissioners on the 25th of October, 1798, made the 
declaration under their hands and seals, deciding what, and 
describing the river also, which was truly intended by the 
river St. Croix, in the treaty of 1783.f Prior, however, to 
their making their final declaration, they had agreed, and 
were about making it the final declaration, that the rive* 
Schoodic, from its mouth at Joes Point to the lake Gene-a- 
granagum-sis, now called the round lake, being the lowest 
of the western Schoodic lakes, was the river St Croix of the 
treaty ; which declaration they did not make, but by the 
agreement or consent of the agents of the United States and 
Great Britain, and the advice of the British Minister.!}: They 
adopted the branch called the Cheputnetecook, to its source, as 
a part of the river which they were to decide and designate. If 
the British government gained no advantage in the decision of 
the commissioners, as, from the evidence submitted, the 
commissioners might well have decided that the Magaguada- 
vic was the river St. Croix intended by the treaty, they did in 
fact gain a most decided and important advantage in the adop- 
tion of the source of the Cheputnetecook, instead of the source 
of the other branch of the Schoodic river, where it issues from 
the lake Qenesagranagum-sig, being the first lake on the west- 
ern branch of the Schoodic, above its junction with the Cheput- 
nete«ook. By an inspection of the map. it will appear that 
the British have gained a tract of land, bv a change of the 
declaration of the commissioners, as to the source of the river 

* Appendix 11. t Appendix 12. t Appendix 18. 



25 

St. Croix, of more than one hundred and forty miles in length, 
by more than ten miles in breadth. These facts are not 
named, because there is any disposition, on our part, to violate 
the good faith pledged in the treaty, and the decision which, 
was thus amicably made. The British, if they be, as they 
declare themselves to be, " a great, honorable, and magnan- 
imous nation," ought equally to abide the decision and its 
consequences, in good faith, more especially as they gained 
so much by the result, Here every real doubt or difficulty 
of any importance was settled and removed ; and nothing 
remained but to run and mark the line, and erect its monu- 
ments. Trifling differences in surveying the line, mightoccur, 
arising from the variation of the needle, and from the peculiar 
situation of the land on the line of the government of Q nebec, 
at the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, one of which would 
tend to change the longitude, and the other the latitude of the 
possibly a mile ; but not in any instance to a distance of any 
importance to either government. Some trifling differe ices 
might also arise in surveying the line between the govern- 
ment of Quebec and Massachusetts, in running the line south- 
westerly from the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, as to 
the precise points which divide the waters, and the lines 
which should connect those points ; but all such differences 
are within a very narrow compass. That the only subject of 
doubt or difficulty of any importance was what river was 
truly intended by the river St. Croix, is not only conceded 
by the treaty of 1794, but is demonstrated by the documen- 
tary evidence produced by the Agent of his Britannic Majes- 
ty, to wit, the patents, charters, proclamations, and acts of 
Parliament, and his arguments founded upon these docu- 
ments ; his argument being, in fact, founded upon this plain 
and simple proposition, that the lines described by the treaty 
of 1783, were, and were intended to be the lines which had 
before been established, between the province of Massachu- 
setts Bay, on the one hand, and the provinces of Quebec and 
Nova Scotia on the other * 

When the subject is again recurred to by the respective 
governments, it is not treated as a subject involving any 
thing more than possible difficulties of trifling importance. 
Hence in a convention between his Britannic Majestv and the 
United States, which was dated the 12th day of May, 1803, 
but which was not ratified by the United States, instead of 
reciting, that whereas doubts have arisen, &c. as in the trea- 
ty of 1794, savs, " Whereas it has become expedient that the 
northwest angle of Nova Scotia, mentioned and described in 
the treaty of peace between his Majesty and the Uniied 
States, should be ascertained and determined, and that the 

* Appendix 11. 
4 



26 

line between the source of the river St. Croix, and the said 
northwest angle of Nova Scotia, should be run and marked, 
according to the provisions of the said treaty of peace. 1 ' And 
again, when the subject is recurred to, in a paper delivered to 
Lord Harrowby, September 5th, 1804, the following lan- 
guage is used : "• By the treaty of 1783, between the United 
States and Great Britain, the boundary between those States 
and Nova Scotia and Canada, is fixed by a line, which is to 
run along the highlands bounding the southern waters of the 
St Lawrence." The same subject is once more recurred to 
by our Ministers at the Court of St. James, in April, 1807, 
and the same language is used in a proposed article on the 
same subject, as was used in the unratified convention of 
1803, before recited. 

The subject is not again recurred to between the respective 
governments until 1814, in the correspondence which pre- 
ceded, and in the fifth article of the Treaty of Ghent. In or- 
der to arrive at a full and perfect knowledge of the facts, to 
the end that the just and true interpretation of the fifth article 
of the Treaty of Ghent may more fully appear, a particular 
examination of the correspondence which preceded it, between 
the ministers of the respective governments of the United 
States and Great Britain, connected with the great chain of 
evidence of title, and implied, and direct, and positive con- 
cessions of the British, is deemed important. The correspon- 
dence touching the subject in discussion is as follows. 

In the protocol made by the American Commissioners of 
the two first conferences held with the British Commissioners, 
the third point presented by the Commissioners on the part of 
the British as subjects of discussion is, " the revision of the 
boundary line between the territories of the United States and 
those of Great Britain adjoining them in North America."* 

In the protocol of conference of August 8, 1814, among the 
subjects stated for discussion by the British Commissioners 
the third is " A revision of the boundary line between the 
British and American territories with a view to prevent fu- 
ture uncertainty and dispute. "f 

In a letter dated Ghent August 12, 1814, from the American 
Commissioners to the Secretary of State.^ The British Com- 
missioners stated three subjects as those upon which it appea- 
red to them that the discussions would be likely to turn, and 
on which they were instructed. The third subject stated is 
"A revision of the boundary line between the United States 
and the adjacent British Colonies." With respect to this 
point, they expressly disclaimed any intention on the part of 



* State papers, vol. 9, page 327.— tib. 330.— I ib. 320. 



21 

their government, to acquire an increase of territory, and 
represented the proposed revision as intended merely for the 
purpose of preventing uncertainty and dispute. In a letter 
dated Ghent, August 19, 1814, from the American Commis- 
sioners to the Secretary of State, the third subject stated by 
the British Commissioners is "A direct communication from 
Halifax and the province of New-Brunswick to Quebec to be 
secured to Great Britain. In answer to our question, in what 
manner this was to be effected ? we were told, that it must be 
done by a cession to Great Britain of that portion of the Dis- 
trict of Maine, (in the State of Massachusetts) which inter- 
venes between New-Brunswick and Quebec, and prevents 
their direct communication."* 

In a note of the British Commissioners dated Ghent, August 
19, 1814, they say, "as they are desirous of stating every 
point in connexion with the subject, which may reasonably 
influence the decision of the American plenipotentiaries in the 
exercise of their discretion, they avail themselves of this op- 
portunity to repeat what they have already stated, that Great 
Britain desires the revision of the frontier between her North Ameri- 
can dominions and those oj the United States, not with any view to 
an acquisition of territory, as such, but for the purpose of securing 
her possessions, and preventing future disputes." f 

Then follows a proposition that the military possession of the 
lakes shall be left in the hands of the British; then the note 
proceeds, " if this can be adjusted, there will then remain for 
discussion the arrangement of the northwestern boundary be- 
tween lake Superior and the. Missisippi, the free navigation of 
that river, and such a variation of the line of frontier as may 
secure a direct communication between Quebec and Halifax. 

In a letter dated Ghent, August 24, 1814, from the Ameri- 
can to the British Commissioners, they say — "The undersign- 
ed further perceive, that under the alledged purpose of open- 
ing a direct communication between two of the British prov- 
inces in America, the British government require a cession of 
territory forming a part of one of the States of the American Union^ 
and that they propose, without purpose specifically alledged, 
to draw the boundary line westward, not from the Lake of the 
Woods, as it now is, but from Lake Superior. It must be 
perfectly immaterial to the United States, whether the object 
of the British Government in demanding the dismemberment 
of the United States, is to acquire territory as such, or for 
purposes less liable in the eyes of the world, to be ascribed to 
the desire of aggrandizement. Whatever the motive may be, 
and with whatever consistency views of conquest may be dis- 
claimed, while demanding for herself or for the Indians, a 



*State papers, vol. 9, p. 332.— t ib. S39. 



28 

cession of territory more extensive than the whole island of 
Great Britain, the duty marked out for the undersigned is the 
same. They have no authority to cede any part of the territory 
of the United Stales; and to no stipulation to that ejject will they sub- 
scribe."* 

In a letter dated Ghent, September 4, 1814, from the Brit- 
ish to the American Commissioners, they say, "With respect 
to the boundary of the District of Maine, and that of the north- 
western frontier of the United States, the undersigned were not 
piepared to anticipate the objections contained in the note of 
the American Plenipotentiaries, that they were instructed to 
treat for the revision of their boundary lines, with the state- 
ment which thev have subsequently made, that they had no 
authority to cede any part however insignificant of the territories of 
the United States, although the proposal left it open for them to 
demand an equivalent for such cession in territory or otherwise. 

" The American plenipotentiaries must be aware that the 
boundary of the District of Maine has never been correctly 
ascertained ; that the one asserted at present by the American 
Government, by which the direct communication between 
Halifax and Quebec becomes interupted, was not in contem- 
plation of the British plenipotentiaries who concluded the 
treaty of 1783, and that the greater part of the territory in ques- 
tion is actually unoccupied. The undersigned are persuaded 
that an arran. ement on this point might be easily made, if 
entered into with the spirit of conciliation, without any pre- 
judice to the interests of the district in question. As the ne- 
cessity for fixing some boundary for the northwestern frontier 
has been mutually acknowledged, a proposal for a discussion 
on that subject cannot be considered as a demand for a cession 
of territory, unless the United States are prepared to assert, 
there is no limit to their territories in that direction, and that 
availing themselves of the geographical error upon which that 
part of the treaty of 1783 was founded, thev will acknowledge 
no boundary whatever, then, unquestionably, any proposition 
to fix one, be it what it may, must be considered as demanding 
a larjre cession of territory from the United States. 1 'f 

In a letter dated Ghent, Sep f ember 9, 1 8! 4, from the Ame- 
rican to the British Commissioners, the American Commis- 
sioners Bay, — " With retrard to the cession of a part of the 
District of Maine, as to which the British plenipotentiaries 
are unable to reconcile the objections made by the under- 
Bigned, with their previous declarations, they have the honor 
to observe, that at tbe conference of the 8th lilt, the British 
plenipotentiaries stated, as one of the subjects suitable for dis- 
cussion, a revision of the boundary line between the British 

* State Papers, vol. 9, p. 381. t fl>. 



29 

and American territories, with a view to prevent uncertainty 
and dispute: and that it was on the point thus stated, that the 
undersigned declared that they were provided with instructions 
fmm their government; a declaration which did not imply 
that they were instructed to make any cession of territory in 
any quarter, or to agree to a revision of the line, or to any 
exchange of territory where no uncertainty or dispute existed. 

" The undersigned perceive no uncertainty or matter of 
doubt in the treaty of 1183, with respect to that part of the 
boundary of the District of Maine which would be affected by 
the proposal of Great Britain on that subject. They never 
have understood that t!ie British plenipotentiaries who signed 
that treaty had contemplated a boundary different from that 
fixed by the treaty and which requires nothing more, in order 
to be definitely ascertained, than to be surveyed in conformity 
with its provisions. This subject not having been a matter of un- 
certainty or dispute, the undersigned are not instructed upon it; 
and they can ha< e no authority to cede any part oj llie State of Massa- 
chusetts, even for what the British Government might consider a juir 
equivalent."* 

In a letter dated Ghent, September 19, 181 4, from the British 
to the American Commissioners, they say, — "With respect to 
the boundary of the Di trict of Maine, the undersigned observe 
with regret; that although the American plenipotentiaries 
have acknowledged them elves to be instructed to discuss a 
revision of the boundary line, with a view to prevent uncer- 
tainty and dispute, yet bv assuming an exclusive right at once to 
decide what is or is not a sidject of uncertainty and dispute, they have 
rendered their powers nugatory or inadmissably partial in their ope- 
ration, "j 

In a letter dated Ghent, September 26, 1814, from the Amer- 
ican to the British Commissioners, they say, u The undersign- 
ed are far from assuming the exclusive right to decide, ichat is, 
or what is not a subject of uncertainty or dispute, with regard to the 
boundary of the District of Maine. But until the British Pleni- 
potentiaries shall have shewn in what respect the part of that 
boundary which would be effected by their proposal, is such a subject, 
the undersigned may be permitted to assert that it is not." 

The treaty of 1783 described the boundary as u a line to be 
drawn along the middle of the river St. Croix from its mouth 
in the Bay of Fundy, to its source, and from its source directly 
north to the highlands which divide the rivers that fall into 
the Atlantic Ocean from those which fall into the river St. 
Lawrence, and thence along the said highlands to the north- 
westernmost head of Connecticut river." " Doubts having 
arisen as to the St. Croix designated in the treaty of 1 783, a pro- 



* State papers, vol. 9, p. 398.— tp. 400. 



JO 

vision was made in that of 1794 for ascertaining it ; and it 
may be fairly inferred, from the limitation of the article to 
that sole object, that, even in the judgment of Great Britain, 
no other subject of controversy existed in relation to the ex- 
tension of the boundary line from the source of that river. 
That river and its source having been accordingly ascertained 
the undersigned are prepared to propose the appointment of com- 
missioners by the two governments, to extend the line to the highlands , 
conformably to the treaty of 1783. The proposal, however, of 
the British Plenipotentiaries was not to ascertain, but to vary those 
lines in such a manner as to secure a direct communication between 
Quebec and Halifax ; an alteration which could not be effected 
without a cession by the United States to Great Britain of all 
that portion of the State of Massachusetts intervening between 
the province of New Brunswick, and Quebec, although un- 
questionably included within the boundary lines fixed by that 
treaty. Whether it was contemplated on the part of Great 
Britain to obtain a cession with, or without an equivalent in 
frontier or otherwise, the undersigned in stating that they were 
not instructed, or authorized to treat on the subject of cession, 
have not declined to discuss any matter of uncertainty or dis- 
pute, which the British Plenipotentiaries may point out to exist, re- 
specting the boundaries in that or any other quarter, and are, 
therefore, not liable to the imputation of having rendered their 
powers on the subject nugatory or inadmissibly partial in their 
operation."* 

In a letter dated Ghent, October 8, 1814, from the British 
to the American Commissioners, they say, " The Britisli gov- 
ernment never required that all that portion of Massachusetts 
intervening between the province of New Brunswick and Que- 
bec, should be ceded to Great Britain, but only that small por- 
tion of unsettled country which interrupts the communication 
between Halifax and Quebec, (there being much doubt whether 
it does not already belong to Great Britain.")! In the letter 
dated Ghent, Oct. 2\, 1814, from the British to the American 
Commissioners, they say, " On the question of boundary be- 
tween the dominions of his Majesty and those of the United 
States, the undersigned are led to expect, from the discussion 
which this subject has already undergone, that the northwest- 
ern boundary from the lake of the Woods to the Mississippi, 
(the intended arrangement of 1803,) will be admitted without 
objection. 

" In regard to other boundaries the American Plenipotentia- 
ries, in their note of August 24, appeared in some measure to 
object to the proposition then made by the undersigned, as not 
being on the basis of uli possidetis. The undersigned are wil- 



S»ate papers, vol, 9, p. 405.— ib. p. 415. 



31 

ling to treat on that basis, subject to such modifications as mu- 
tual convenience may be found to require ; and they trust that 
the American Plenipotentiaries will shew, by their ready ac- 
ceptance of this basis, that they duly appreciate the modera- 
tion of his Majesty's government, in so far consulting the honor 
and fair pretensions of the United States as, in the relative situ- 
ation of the two countries to authorize such a proposition."* 

In a letter dated Ghent, October 24, 1814, from the Amer- 
can to the British Commissioners they say, " Amongst the gen- 
eral observations which the undersigned in their note of Aug. 
24th, made on the propositions then brought forward on the 
part of the British government, they remarked, that those 
propositions were neither founded on the basis of uti possidetis, 
nor that of status ante bellum. But so far were they from sug- 
gesting the uti possidetis as the basis on which they were dis- 
posed to treat, that in the same note they expressly stated, that 
they had been instructed to conclude a peace on the principle 
of both parties restoring whatever territory they might have 
taken. The undersigned also declared in that note, that they 
had no authority to cede any part of the territory of the Uni- 
ted States, and that to no stipulation to that effect would they 
subscribe : and in the note of the 9th of September, after hav- 
ing shewn that the basis of uti possidetis, such as it was known 
to exist at the commencement of the negotiation, gave no 
claim to his Britannic Majesty to cessions of territory, found- 
ed upon the right of conquest, they added that even if the 
chances of war should give to the British arms a momentary 
possession of other parts of the territory of the United States, 
such events would not alter their views with regard to the 
terms of peace to which they would give their consent. 

" The undersigned can only now repeat those declarations, 
and decline treating upon the basis of uti possidetis, or upon 
any other principle involving a cession of any part of the territory 
of the United States, as they have uniformly stated, they can 
only treat upon the principle of a mutual restoration of what- 
ever territory may have been taken by either party. From 
this principle they cannot recede, and the undersigned, after 
the repeated declarations of the British Plenipotentiaries, that 
Great Britain had no view to the acquisition of territory in 
this negotiation, deem it necessary to add, that the utilitv of 
its continuance depends on their adherence to this principle."! 
In a letter dated Ghent, October 25, 1814, from the Amer- 
ican Commissioners to the Secretary of State, they, after sta- 
ting that an article had been reduced to writing, securing mere- 
ly an Indian pacification, had been agreed to be accepted, sub- 
ject to the ratification or rejection of the government of the 

* State Papers, vol. 9, p. 427. t lb. 428. 



32 

United States, say, " Cut will perceive that our request for 
the exchange oi' a project ol a treaty ha* been eluded, and that 
in their la&t note, the .British Plenipotentiaries have advanced 
a demand, not only new and inadmissible, but totally incom- 
patible with their uniform previous declarations, that Great 
JrJ. itairi had no view in this negotiation to any acquisition of 
territory. It will be perceived, that this new pretension was 
brought forward immediately after the accounts had been re- 
ceived, that a British force had taken possession of all that 
part of the State of Massachusetts situated east of Penobscot 
river."* 

It having been shewn, in the first part of this report, what 
the lines between Massachusetts and Nova Scotia, and Massa- 
chusetts a. id the province of Quebec, as formed and estab- 
lished by the government were, prior to tne provisional 
treaty, and the definitive treaty of peace of 1783, and the 
investigation which took place, and the care and diligence 
with which the subject was examined, by the com nissioners 
of both governments, and the cabinet of Great Britain, and 
that it was the intention of both governments, to adopt the 
lii.es above mentioned, as a part of the boundary of the United 
States, and that the treaty itself, in describing the boundary, 
contains almost the precise language which the British had 
often used in relation to the same lines ; it having also been 
shewn that the only difficulty in relation to the line arose 
from the uncertainty as to what river was truly intended by 
the river St. Croix, and which uncertainty arose from facts 
and circumstances which existed long before, and at the time 
of concluding the treaties and which were not removed by 
the treaty, in consequence of the river St. Croix not being 
designated with any more particularity, than it was before, 
in the patents, charters, acts of Parliament, and documents, 
in which it had been mentioned ; and also, that in the 
discussions on the subject between the governments of tiie 
I nited States and Great Britain, it had been admitted, 
more especially by the aie.it for the latter that let the 
commissioners designate what river they would as the river 
Si Croix, truly intended by the treaty of peace, from the 
source of that river the line run due north to the highr 
iands, the southern line of the government of Quebec, and 
the northern line of Massachusetts, and the province of 
N iva Scotia, and in any event even, if thev adopted the 
most western point, which he described as the head of the 
rive- St. Croix, the line running north, must cross the river 
St. John to t lie highlands dividing the waters which fall 
into that river, from those which fall into the river St. 
Lawrence. f 



• State Papers, vol. 9, p. 375. t Appendix 11. 



33 

It also having been further shown, that since 1798, when 
the river St. Croix was designated by the Commissioners un- 
der the treaty of 1791, from all the correspondence and 
treaties, which had been formed or propo*ed to be formed by 
the Commissioners of the two governments the right of the 
United States had not been considered any way doubtful, and 
the whole object of the arrangements thus attempted to be 
made had been limited to surveying and marking the line. 

AVith a recurrence to these facts and circumstances, a more 
particular attention to the correspondence which preceded the 
treaty of Ghent, which is herein before quoted, to the end 
that the true intent and meaning of the. contracting parties in 
the fifth article of that treaty maybe more clearly ascertained 
and better understood, is not deemed unimportant. 

The British Commissioners ask a revision of the Boundary 
line between the United States and the adjacent British Colo- 
nies, disclaiming expressly at the same time, any disposition to 
acquire an increase of territory, and limiting their proposi- 
tion*^ the simple fact, of so ascertaining the line as to prevent 
uncertainty and dispute. Such was their first proposition; 
but as the conferences progressed, they in some measure varied 
their proposition, and instead of asking simply a revision of 
the line, to prevent uncertainty and dispute, they ask a direct 
communication from Halifax and the province of New-Bruns- 
wick to Quebec; and when they are requested to explain, ex- 
plicitly declare that it must be done by a cession of that portion 
oj the District of Maine which intervenes between New- Brunswick 
and Quebec and prevents a direct communication. 

Here they clearly and distinctly ask the territory as a cession, 
thereby conceding the title is not in them, which the subor- 
dinate agents since appointed, have had the ingenuity to claim 
as a right. The American Commissioners most clearly and 
explicitly deny any authority on their part, to cede any por- 
tion of the territory asked of them, whether to secure the 
right of passage between their different provinces or other- 
wise, and the denial is repeated as often as the subject recurs 
in the conferences or correspondence. 

The British Commissioners, in giving a construction to their 
own proposition for securing a direct communication between 
New-Brunswick and Quebec, say " their proposal left it open 
to the American Commissioners, to demand an equivalent for such 
cession in territory or otherwise." Here our right is again con- 
ceded, in language which admits no doubt, for the supposition 
that the British would consent to purchase of us that territory 
to which they had title, is absurd and preposterous. The Brit- 

5 



34 

ish are too vigilant in their negotiations, to overlook their own 
claims, whether weil or ill founded. They are not generous 
beyond what their iutere t dictates, nor are they liable to the 
imputation of undue or disinterested generosity in their nego- 
tiations. 

The American Ministers most explicitly stated, that they 
were not instructed to agiee to any levision of the line where 
no uncertainty or dispute existed, and that they could perceive 
no uncertainty or matter of doubt in the treaty of 1 783, with 
regard to that part of the boundary of the District of Maine, 
which would be eilected by tiie proposal of Great Britain on 
the subject — That they never understood that the British plen- 
ipotentiaries who signed that treaty, had contemplated a boun- 
dary different from that fixed by the treaty, and which requires 
nothing more, in order to be definitively ascertained than to be sur- 
veyed in conformity with, its provisions." The subject not having 
been a matter of uncertainty or dispute they were not instruc- 
ted upon it, and had no authority to cede any part of the State 
of Massachusetts, evon for what the British might consider a 
fair equivalent. 

To which the British Ministers replied, that although the 
American Commissioners acknowledged themselves to be in- 
structed to discuss the revision of the boundary line, yet by 
assuming to decide for themselves what was or what was not 
a subject of uncertainty or dispute, they had rendered their 
powers nugatory or inadmissably partial. 

The American Commissioners having stated their construc- 
tion of the treaty of 1783, as it applied to the line between 
Maine, and the Provinces of Nova Scotia and Canada, say that 
they have not pretended to assume any thing, but shall perse- 
vere in their opinions until the British Commissioners should 
point out, in what respect the part of the boundary, which 
would be affected by their proposal, is such a subject of uncer- 
tainty or dispute. That all the doubts which could have ever 
existed in relation to the line, were settled under the treaty of 
1794, and were prepared to propose the appointment of com- 
missioners to extend the lines to the highlands in conformity 
to the treaty of 1783. That the proposition of the British 
was to vary those lines by obtaining a cession of the territo- 
ry between New Brunswick and Quebec, although that terri- 
tory was unquestionably included within the boundary lines 
fixed by the treaty. 

Although the subject is again thus clearly pressed upon the 
consideration of the British Commissioners, and they are call- 
ed upon to point out any uncertainty or dispute, or cause of 
uncertainty or dispute, in relation to the boundary, with a 



35 

perfect understanding, that tlieir acquiescence would he taken 
as the admission of the fact, to wit, that tiieie «a no uncer- 
tainty or dispute as t.> tiie boundary line; they pointed oaf no 
uncertainty, but contented themselves by saying the "'British 
Government never required that all that portion of Massachu- 
setts which intervene* between the province of New Bruns- 
wick and Quebec should be ceded to Great Britain, but only that 
small portion of territory which interrupts the communication between 
Halifax and Quebec (thee being much doubt whether it does 
not already belong to Great Britain.") Here no uncertainty 
or dispute is pointed out, they do not once say the line stops 
at Mars hill, or any other point, but admit that it dues not, by 
invariably asking the territory, or a communication between 
New Brunswick and Quebec or Halifax and Quebec as a ces- 
sion. Instead of meeting the proposition of the American 
Commissioners, in the frankness and candor with which it 
was made, they do no more than superadd a doubt, which the 
whole correspondence shews they did not believe, perhaps 
with a glirnering hope that the British Government, might 
find some daring Agent who would have the hardihood to 
claim, and by ingenious sophistry endeavor to maintain, as a 
right, that which from their convictions of right and justice, 
they requested only as a cession; some one who would not be 
restrained, by that high minded and honorable course, which 
ought ever to be preserved, to maintain the relations of peace 
and harmony between nations; but would sacrifice every con- 
sideration of that kind to acquire a temporary advantage re- 
gardless of its future results. 

After the British had taken military possession of Castine, 
and claimed, from that circumstance, the military possession 
of the territory of the State of Maine, east of Penobscot river, 
and having altogether failed, even in the prospect of obtain- 
ing any part of the State of Maine by cession, they change 
their proposition, and, to effect the same object, propose the 
principle of uti possidetis, as the basis, subject to such modifi- 
cations as mutual convenience may be found to require. To 
this proposition, the American commissioners promptly and 
unequivocally, as they had done on all other occasions, re- 
fused treating " on the principle of uti possidetis, or upon any 
other principle involving a cession of any part of the terri- 
tory of the United States." 

Can it for a moment be supposed, that when the British 
commissioners so often requested the territory as a cession, 
and expressed a disposition to give an equivalent, if it would be 
received, and when thev were as often and peremptorily 
denied, on the ground of total want of authority to cede, that 



36 

it was the intention of the commissioners to do any thing 
more, than to provide for the survey and marking of the 
lines, and to guard against any possible difficulties of a minor 
character, such as the variation of the needle, or the precise 
spot, where the corner, to wit, the northwest angle of Nova 
Scotia, should be fixed, on the range of highlands, limiting 
the sources of those rivers which empty themselves into the 
river St. Lawrence, or some other possible difficulties of 
a similar character, none of which would vary the lines 
materially, or in any important degree, to either government? 
When the whole is fairly and candidly examined, such must 
be the conclusion. No other conclusion can be made, unless 
it be on the ground that the American commissioners under- 
took to exercise a power, which they so often and explicitly 
declared to the British, they did not possess, and if they did 
exercise a power which they did not possess, their acts were 
not obligatory upon the government 

A careful examination of the fifth article of the treaty of 
Ghent, does not involve a conclusion, that the commissioners 
departed from the powers given them, and their repeated and 
reiterated declarations. The part of the article relating to 
the point under discus ion, is as follows : " Whereas neither 
that point of the highlands, lying due north from the source 
of the river St. Croix, and designated in a former treaty of 
peace between the two powers, as the northwest angle of 
Njva Scotia, nor the northwesternmost head of Connecticut 
river, has yet been ascertained, and whereas that boundary 
line between the dominions of the two powers, which extends 
from the source of the river St. Croix, directly north, to the 
above-mentioned angle of Nova Scotia, thence along the said 
highlands which divide those rivers that empty themselves 
into the liver St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the 
Atlantic Ocean, to the norjth westernmost head of Connecticut 
river, thence down along that river to the forty-fifth degree 
of north latitude, until it strikes the river Iroquois or Catara- 
guy, has not yet been surveyed ; it is agreed for these several 
purposes, two Commissioners shall be appointed, sworn and au- 
thorized to act exactly in the manner directed with respect to 
those mentioned in the next preceding article, unless otherwise 
specified in the present arti.-le. The said Commissioners shall 
have power to ascertain the points abovementioned, in confor- 
mity with the provisions of the said treaty of peace of one 
thousand seven hundred and eighty three, and shall cause the 
boundary aforesaid to be surveyed and marked according to 
the said provisions. The said Commissioners shall make a 
map of said boundary, and annex it to a declaration under their 



37 

hands and seals, certifying it to be a true map of said bounda- 
ry and particularizing the latitude of the northwest angle of 
Nova Scotia, and ot the northwestermnost head of Connecti- 
cut river, and of such other points of said boundary as tliey 
niay deem proper " 

llere the question may be repeated, has Nova Scotia two 
northwest angles? or an ideal one, placed where the " cupidity'''' 
or the interested views of either party may dictate? or is the 
northwest angle of Nova Scotia, the northwest angle of Nova 
Scotia as e?tabiished by the Crown and Government of Great 
Britain, adopted by the treaty of 1783, and recognized in tiie 
discussions by the Agents under the fifth article of the treaty 
of 1794, and also recognized by all Subsequent discussions be- 
tween the United States and Great Britain? It cannot be rea- 
sonably supposed, that the Commissioners had any other angle 
in view, e-peeiaily as the article seems to recognize and place 
the location of the angle on the construction of the treaty of 
1163, explained as it wa- by the treaty of 1794, and the dis- 
cussions under that treaty. It cannot be supposed that the 
British Commissioners expected to gain, that which they had 
requested as a cession, or the American Commissioners ex- 
pecled to lose any thing which they had denied, from the lan- 
guage used and references made in the article above quoted; 
but it is to be supposed, that both parties, in agreeing to the 
article, limited to the description in the treaty of 1783, as the 
same had been defined and the rights of the parties under it 
had been explained by direct and implied acknowledgments 
of its true construction, from the time of its adoption, intend- 
ed simply to provide for the survey and marking of the line. 
No other conclusion can follow, unlessit be supposed, that the 
high minded and honorable men, who negotiated the treaty, 
did on the one part resort to the most despicable chicanery, 
and the other to a gross and palpable violation of the power 
and authority to them delegated ; neither of which can be 
true. It follows then, that to fulfil this article, nothing more 
was required, than to survey and mark the lines, and that the 
difficulties which could arise, if any, were of minor conse- 
quence, not involving in any event, but a trifling extent of ter- 
ritory, and of little importance to either government, and by 
no means involving the title to the intervening territory be- 
tween New Brunswick and Quebec, which had often been 
sought as a cession, to secure a direct communication, and as 
often denied. 

If the Agents and Commissioners of the two governments 
have departed from this plain and natural interpretation of the 
treaty, they must have erred from causes which are credita- 



38 

Me to neither. If a line were to be established, contrary to 
this obvious construction, it is to be foreseen, that the party 
thus deprived of its rights, would imbibe a spirit not to be sub- 
dued, and which Wort Id se'eik its redress whenever it could, at 
any sacrifice. If the British colonists were to be governed by 
their true interests, they would not endeavor to acquire any 
tiling by construction, against the true and common sense in- 
terpretation of all the treaties, because in that they would dis- 
cover tiie germs of eternal hostility. 

If, in the prosecution of ' the duties under this article, the 
Agent of the United States has misconstrued and extended its 
application beyond its plain and obvious construction, or had 
not a clear and distinct view of the meaning of the terms 
" highlands, which d-vide the waters " in the treaty of 1 783, or 
*\vas bewildered by mountains, or mountain ranges, when even 
mole hill- answer the description precisely, if they do " di- 
vine the waters which flow into the river St. Lawrence, from 
those which fall into the Atlantic," and if the British Agent, 
in the prosecution of his duties, tinder the same article, lias 
pi cended that the northwest angle of Nova Scotia is at Mars 
hiii, and that tiie line of the United States runs south west- 
wardly from that point, when the territory extending north, 
northwe- 1, west and south west wardly, is claimed as a part of 
the ancient province of Nova Scotia, thereby destroying the 
northwest angle of Nova Scotia, which had been established 
by a series of acts of the British government, and acknowl- 
ed.ed by them to this time, and substituting therefor, a south- 
west angle, and, if from the course so absurd and preposterous 
in itself, ingenuity should obtain a temporary triumph over 
right, a question will arise, growing out of the nature of, and 
the organization of the State and National governments ; has 
the United Sta>es any constitutional authority to cede any part 
of an independent sovereignty composing one of its members ? 

The Commissioners of the United States who negotiated the 
treaty of Ghent, uniformly denied the right of cession, but 
whether they founded their de.iial on the want of authority in 
the instructions given them, or upon the Constitution of the 
United States is not pe" r c^tlv clear; if upon the first, they 
adopted a ri'rht course: if upon the last, their course was also 
right, and there must be perfect harmony of opinion, because 
either principle preserve-; the rights of the individual States. 
On this subject it may be important to consider the object and 
nature of the association of the States, which led to the adoption 
of the Constitution. 

The general government, which had originated in the op- 
pression of Great Britain and been sustained by the pressure 



39 

of an external enemy, and had carried the country through 
the Revolution, when peace was restored, wastouud to be too 
feeble for any valuable purpose to the Stales, lis inherent 
defects had, by a few vears experience, been shewn, and the 
States lor want of general union we. e in danger of ae b eaeia- 
ting and falling into anarchy, and of becoming a prey to each 
otiier, or any foreign nation. The independent sovereignties 
saw the necessity of associating anew, wiiicii they did, and in 
that association nfutually delegated innited parts of their sove- 
reign power for the greater security of thu.e retained. 

As in the first confederation mutual defence aud protection 
was a primary object, so it was, in tne last conieueranon; a 
mutual protection, not limited to the personal rights o» individ- 
uals, but extended to the full and free exercise of the whole 
sovereign power, not delegated, to tne extent of tne territorial 
jurisdiction of the State. With this view of the object of tne 
confederation, composed as it was of independent sovereignties, 
it cannot be supposed that they ever intended to give to tne 
general government any power by which they might be de- 
stroyed and consolidated, or by which even their rights of 
sovereignty and jurisdiction might be abridged. It has never 
been pretended that Congress has the power of taking from one 
State and giving to another, or to incorporate new States within 
the limits of old ones; nor has it ever claimed to exercise 
such a power. The most it has ever done, or has a constitu- 
tional right to do, has been, to give its consent to the compact 
made between the parties immediately interested, and to admit 
the new State into the IL.ion. 

If Congress do possess the power of ceding any portion of 
an independent State, they possess a power to breakdown the 
State sovereignties by which they were created, and at their 
pleasure to produce a consolidation of those sovereignties ; a 
power which was never delegated or intended. If, therefore, 
the Congress of the United States attempt to exercise such a 
power, the State thus deprived of, of limited in its rights of 
sovereignty, must submit, or enforce its rights. 

The rights of protection in the exercise of the sovereign 
power of the State are equal, whether it is an exterior or inte- 
rior State, and Congress can have no more constitutional right 
to take from Maine and cede to New Brunswick, than they 
have to take from Virginia a part of her territory, and cede it 
to North Carolina. Congress has not claimed to exercise such 
a power, for the construction of the treaty of Ghent herein 
before given does not involve such a power, unless from a 
misconstruction of its provisions, limiting as it does the whole 
power of the commission to the surveying and marking of the 



40 

lines and erecting its monuments, according to the treaty of 
1783. 

But, it will at once be seen, if the government of the United 
States yield to the misconstructions of the agents, so far as to 
be endangered by the result, that by the misconstructions of 
the one and tiie ingenuity of the other, arising from a strong 
desire to acquire for his country the territory which had been 
so often but unsuccessfully sought as a cession, and by its final 
result the lines of the State of Maine are materially changed, 
she will be as much dispossessed of her territory and sove- 
reignty, as she would have been by a direct exercise of the 
power of cession. The one mode equally with the other in- 
volves an assumption of power which was never delegated. 
If such an unfortunate occurrence ever arises, from any cause, 
the duty which the State owes herself and her sister republics 
is plain. 

While it is the duty, as well as the interest, of individu- 
als, as well as States, to yield a peaceable and quiet obedience 
to every exercise of constitutional power on the part of the 
government of the United States, it is equally their dutv, and 
their interest to resist all encroachments on the rights which 
they have reserved. If a part of the State of Maine should be 
surrendered by the government of the United States, either by 
a direct or indirect exercise of the power of cession, it will 
then be a duty which she owes herself, to consider, whether 
she has, by such an invasion of her rights, lost her right of 
sovereignty and jurisdiction. Such an exercise of power can 
have no obligatory force, and unless Maine quietlv and peace- 
ably submits, it will be the duty of the States; a dutv imposed 
by the Federal Government, to afford her aid and protection, 
and to aid her in regaining her rights. 

From the provisional treaty of peace in 1782 to the treaty 
of Ghent, for a period of more than thirty-two years, the 
British always conceded our title and our rights, whenever 
the subject was presented in the discussions between them and 
the United States. Even in the argument of the British 
Agent under the fourth article of the treaty of Ghent, deli- 
vered before the Commissioners in September 18 17, after the 
Board under the fifth article of the same treaty, and the agents 
had made their agreement for a survey, he unequivocally ad- 
mits and shows our title. He savs, " That the northwest an- 
gle of Nova Scotia mentioned in the treaty as the commencing 
point in the boundary of the United States is the northwest 
angle of the said Province of Nova Scoiia, designated in iiie 
grant to Sir William Alexander in 162!, subject only to such 
alteration as was occasioned by the erection of the Pro- 
vince ofQuebec, 17G3." 



41 

Since the treaty of Ghent and the entire failure on the part 
of the British to obtain the territory by cession or purchase, 
and since September, 1817, they have pretended to claim it 
as a right, and do, in fact, pretend to claim a much greater 
extent than they had ever sought by way of cession, by exteud- 
ing the claim much further, south and west, than is necessary 
to secure a communication between Halifax and Quebec. 

The idea of claim, as they at present make it, probably orig- 
inated with some of their subjects in the provinces, who, hav- 
ino- a great desire to hold the country, endeavored to stimulate 
the government of Great Britain, that she might, by some 
means, be induced to obtain it. In order to show the origin as 
well as the substance of their claim, as they now make it, the 
following extract is made from a work published a little before 
the organization of the commission under the fifth article of tiie 
treaty of Ghent, entitled U A topographical description of the 
Province of Lower Canada, with remarks upon Upper Canada, 
and on the relative connexion of both Provinces with the U. 
States of America, by Joseph Bouchctte, Surveyor General of 
Lower Canada, Col. CM." This work was dedicated to the 
present King, George IV. then Prince Regent, and was accom- 
nied with splendid maps. Col. Bouchette was attached to the 
commission under the fifth article of the treaty of Ghent, at 
the commencement, as principal surveyor on the part of the 
British. 

He says, " the height of land on which the boundary is 
supposed to pass, runs to the notheast and divides the waters 
that fall into the St. Lawrence from those flowing into the 
Atlantic, and which height after running some distance upon 
that course sends off a branch to the eastward, that separates 
the head of the Thames falling into Lake Temiscouata and 
river St. John, and by that channel into the bay of Fundy 
from those that descend in a more direct course to the At- 
lantic. 

" The main ridge continuing its northeasterly direetion is 
intersected by an imaginary line, prolonged in a course astro- 
nomically due north from the head of the river St. Croix, and 
which ridge is supposed to be the boundary between Lower 
Canada and the United States; at least such appears to be the 
way in which the treaty of 1783 is construed by the American 
Government, but which ought to be more fairly understood as 
follows to wit : That the astronomical line running north from 
the St. Croix should extend only to the first easterly ridge, 
and thence run westerly along the crest of the said ridge to the 
Connecticut, thereby equitably dividing the waters flowing 
into the St. Lawrence from those that empty into the Atlantic, 

(J 



42 

within the limits of the United States, and those that have 
their streams within the British province of New Brunswick. 
ll i& important and must always have been in contemplation, 
that an uninterrupted communication a.:d connexion should 
exifst between all nis Majesty's North American possessions; 
bui by tiie manner in which tne treaty is insisted upon by the 
opposite party, a space of more than eighty-five miles would 
he placed within tne American limits, by which the British 
provinces would be completely *eeured; it would also prove 
the inconvenient e of having the mail, from England to Que- 
bec, carried oyer that di lance of American territory, and 
which may be deemed either a matter of indulgence or com- 
plained of as a:i encroachment, according to the transfer of 
tne liiues. Witnin this tract is also the Madawaska settle- 
ment, consisting of nearly two hundred iamilies all holding 
their grants from the British Government. England at all 
times high minded and generous never shrinks from the ful- 
filment other engagements e. en though from tiie want of po- 
litical acuteness in the persons employed, they may have been 
formed in a maimer prejudicial to her intere-ts. But at the 
same time she has a right to require that the interpretation of 
them should not be overstrained or twisted from the obvious 
meaning and intent, by a grasping cupidity after a few miles of 
country which could he of little advantage to the opposite 
party." 

The above extract has been made, because it shews the 
whole of the British claim as they have since made it, as 
Well as the substance of all the arguments they have urged 
in its support ; all which has since been done by them, 
whether in making surveys^ collecting documents, or making 
arguments, for a period of more than five years, has not placed 
their pretensions in a stronger light. If subsequent occur- 
rences have given their claim any additional plausibility, it 
can only he attributed to the Agents having transgressed the 
authority given them by the treaty, and discussed a claim 
which was not submitted. 11 e i e it is wholly unnecessary to 
repeat the facts and documents herein beftne quoted or refer- 
red to — a mere recurrence to them and placing them in op- 
position to the British argument, shows, to use no harsher 
term, its total absurdity. 

The argument seems to he addressed to the pride of the 
Pritish, and vanity of the Americans — As it relates to the 
British, the argument has had its effect, but as it relates to the 
America" s it has been a little too gross to deceive. If the dis- 
covery had been made more seasonably, it might have acquir- 
ed a temporary appearance of plausibility, but when the sub- 



43 

ject had come before Parliament and had also been under dis- 
cussion by tWe Commissioners and Agents of the two govern- 
ments, and last of all, when the British Commissioners had 
per.evermgly sought tiie territory, in every form as a cession, 
from seventeen hundred and eighty-two to eightee i hundred 
and foui teen, a period of thirty two years, the argument is not 
calculated to deceive, and ill accords with a character always 
u high-minded and generous, and which never shrinks from the jul- 
fUineut oj its engagements.". 

Tlie territory, from all our researches never has been claim- 
ed as a right by the 13 1 it i h government or any of its Commis- 
sioners or Agents, until 1817, after the Commissidner under 
tne fifth article of the treaty of Ghent was organized ; but on 
tlie contrary, as has been before shewn, the right has always 
been conceited to be in the United States. Now their claim, 
stripped of its verbiage, and translated into plain language, 
re^ts on this plain and simple proposition — the country lies be- 
tween two of our provinces, it will be u-eful tons, not only by 
facilitating communication; but it is important also in a milita- 
ry point of view — we could not obtain it by cession, though 
we were willing to give an equivalent, but we want it, and we 
will have it. 

The State of Massachusetts considering her right of sove- 
reignty and jurisdiction coextensive with her title, did not an- 
ticipate any disturbance or intrusion, and did not consider her- 
self under any necessity of cultivating her whole territory, or 
of keeping up a military force for its protection, relying upon 
the good faith which had appeared to matiifest itself on the 
part of the British in the negotiations ahddiscussidns' between 
them and the United States, and presuming also that the Brit- 
ish, whenever they were found to have crossed her lines; would 
disavow the act and re-tore the country — she had from time 
to time made grants of her unappropriated lands, as the same 
were sought for public and private purposed She early 
granted Mars hill to some of the sol'dieVs of the revolution. 
In Sept. 1806, Massachusetts conveved two half township®, 
one to Deerfield and tlie other to West field Academic s, lying 
west of the township of Mars hill, pursuant to a survey and 
plan made in conformity with the provisions of a resolve which 
had passed some time before I i Dec. 1807, she Convey ed one 
township lying on both sides of the Aroostook and near the 
meridian line, from the source of the St. Croix, according to 
a selection, survey and plan, made under a re-olve passed in 
March, 1806. In January,' 1808, she conveyed ten thousand 
acres lying west of the aforesaid township and on both sides 
of the Aroostook, pursuant to a survey and plan made under 
a resolve of March, 1806. Had the residue of territory been 



applied for, she would have continued granting it, in large 
or small' tracts, until she had granted the whole, provided the 
object of the grants had met her approbation. Hence she 
not only exercised sovereign power co-extensive with her title, 
but also individual acts of sovereignty, and to what extent she 
pleaded. 

The restrictive system adopted by the government of the 
United States, commencing about this period, checked the gen- 
eral business of the country, and at the same time allayed the 
spirit of improvement and settlement, and entirely put a stop 
to speculations in wild lands, and there being no more appli- 
cations for grants of wild lands, she had no occasion to make 
them. The war succeeded, which still further checked the 
progress of improvement and settlement, and several vears were 
required to recover from the diversions occasioned by it; hence 
from a coincidence of circumstances no grants were made. 

Entertaining no suspicion that any claim would be made by 
the British, or discussed by the agents, inconsistent with every 
thing which had transpired, and especially in all the correspond- 
ence which had preceded, and in the treaty of Ghent itself, she 
could have had no reason to presume that claims would be made 
and urged, which could infringe her rights of soverignty and 
jurisdiction. Hence she reposed in peifect confidence, that the 
lines would be run and marked, and monuments erected accord- 
ing to her title, as it had always been understood by her, and 
conceded by the British, and therefore made no inquires to 
ascertain the claims urged, or the progress of the Commission. — 
In IS 19 she passed the act of separation between her and the 
district of Maine, which was approved by Congress the next 
session, and .Maine was admitted into the union as an Independ- 
ent State — By the act of separation Massachusetts retained the 
fee simple of a moiety of the Wild lands, but the residue, and 
the entire sovereignty and jurisdiction was vested in Maine. — 
Maine having thus become an Independent State, and more 
than three years having elapsed after the organization of the 
commission under the fifth article of the treaty of Ghent, a time 
more than sufficient, to have performed all which was submitted 
and there being reports that the British agent was vigilant, and 
the American remiss, and that surveys, were going on in quar- 
ters wholly unanticipated, «he of course became anxious, and 
had reason to fear the subject was taking a direction never in 
the contemplation of the commissioners who negotiated, or in- 
volved in the treaty itself. The Governor of the State noticed 
the subject, in the first message which was delivered June 2d 
1820, to both branches of the Legislature. He says, "What 
progress has been made under the fifth article of the British 



45 

treaty in settling the eastern boundary of the State against the 
province of New-Brunswick, and the northern boundary against 
that of lower Canada, lam unable to inform you. As this 
State and Massachusetts have so deep an interest in the settle- 
ment of these boundaries, there would seem to have been a pro- 
priety in the agent appointed on the part of the United States, 
being taken from one of these two States. But under existing 
circumstances you will consider whether the interest of the 
State does not require from you the adoption of such arrange- 
ments as are best calculated to afford the present agent such in- 
formation in relation to this important subject as the people in 
this State have it in their power to give." 

The Message was answered on the 12th June 1820 where in it 
was among other things Resolved "That the Governor of this 
State be requested to transmit to the President of the United 
States, a copy of the Resolve, accompanied with such represen- 
tations in relation to this subject, as he shall think proper and 
best calculated to effect the object." The request was complied 
with by the Governor, who in July, 1820 transmitted a copy of 
the resolve to the President, and among other things observed 
to him " When it is considered that Massachusetts and Maine 
have the right of soil, that Maine has also a State jurisdiction, 
that the people here have not the honor of an acquaintance 
either with the Commissioner or agent, and have not been advis- 
ed of any reason for the delay to the present time it will not be 
considered a matter of surprise that their extreme solicitude 
should be such as to render desirable, information on a subject 
so generally interesting." 

It is not unknown to the people of this state that the British 
agent has been very attentive to the busines in which he has been 
engaged, and that he has caused the country near the lines to be 
examined and explored in the most particular manner ; while it 
is not understood that comparatively any thing has been done 
on the part of the American Agent. With impressions such as 
these, the boundary being an extensive one it would be highly 
satisfactory to people of this State should it comport with the 
views of the executive of the United States, to designate a per- 
son to assist the present agent in his important duties, that the 
boundary may not only be more expeditiously, but more satis- 
torily adjusted." 

The substance of the reply which was made appeared in the 
next message of the Governor. 

This year, in the exercise of their general powers of sovereign- 
ty and jurisdiction, the Marshall of Maine, under a law of the 
United States, took the census of the inhabitants settled on the 



46 

St. John river and its tributary streams west of the Meridian line 
from the monument at ilie source of the Saint Croix, and the 
south line of tiie province of Quebec, or Lower Canada. 

In the autumn of the year of 1820, an agent was sent by the 
Governor and council to explore the public lauds upon the St. 
John audits branches west of the meridian line from the mon- 
ument, which service he performed. 

The Governor again in his message, which was delivered Jan- 
uary II, 1821 to both branches of the Legislature, called their 
attention to the subject of the preservation of the timber on the 
public lands, and after enumerating several places as the scenes 
of depredations, says, "it appears that trespasses within our 
acknowledged territory, particularly on the rivers Oroostook, 
De Chute, Pres-quille and Meduxnekeacr, committed by persons 
residing in the British provinces are very great accordingly, ar- 
rangements have lately been adopted with a view to prevent such 
predatory incursions in future." 

He also states that he forwarded the Kesolve of the prior ses- 
sion of the Legislature to the President, and Secretary, transmit- 
ted a copy of the same to the American Commissioners, who in 
reply " gave a reasonable ground of expectation that the final de- 
cision of the points in controversy respecting those lines would 
have been made in October last — And from information obtain- 
ed from other sources, adds — "A!l reasonable hope of a speedy 
adjustment seems therefore to have vanished." 

The Governor after having received information that Brit- 
ish subjects were trespassing on the timber lands of Maine and 
Massachusetts on the Oroostook, appointed Benjamin J. Porter, 
Esquire with the advice of council to proceed immediately to 
that place, and to notify the persons whom he should find tres- 
pas-ing on the timber lands aforesaid west of the line which had 
been run by order of the Commissioners appointed by the Uni- 
ted States and Great Britain from tbe monument at the source 
of the St. Croix to the line of the province of lower Canada, that 
if they would pay a proper consideration for the timber they had 
cut, and desist from any further depredation on that part of our 
territory, In 1 was authorized to settle with them on those princi- 
ples — but if they declined, be was directed to proceed to Houl- 
tori plantation and adopt the necessary measures, and obtain such 
assistance as in bis judgment would be required, to take the 
trespassers and their teams and brine; them to Honlton planta- 
tion, and there keep them until the Executive couid be advised 
of the measures adopted. 

The agent thus appointed and instructed proceeded to the 
Oroostook, and found British subjects trespassing there, with 



47 

whom he settled, and received also the assurances required, that 
they would not return, and would desist from cutting the tim- 
ber. 

The efforts thus fur made, not having produced the intended 
results, the Legislature, January 16, 1822, passed a resolve re- 
questing the Senators and Representatives of this State in the 
Congress of the United States, to collect information touching the 
causes of the differences between the American and British Com- 
missioners under the treaty of Ghent respecting the boundary 
line, between this State and the British provinces of lower Cana- 
da and Nova Scotia, and the extent and nature of the claims set 
up by the said British Commissioners, The resolve was duly 
communicated. No progress was however made and the ob- 
ject of the Resolve was not answered. In February 1822, an 
agent was appointed with full power to prevent trespassing upon 
the timber in the public lands, on the Oroostook, Maduxnekeag 
and Presquilla rivers and their branches west of the meridian line 
from the monument, and he entered immediately upon the duties 
of his agency and visited the places required, and accomplished 
the objects of his appointment. The subject is again reeured io 
Jan. 10, 1824 by the Governor in his message, which led to no 
specific act on the part of the Legislature — Jan. 7, 1825, the 
Governor again calls the attention of the Legislature to the sub- 
ject of tne Northeastern boundary, stating also that he had under- 
stood from respectable Sources, that depredations had been com- 
mitted on our timber lauds, on the Oroostook and Madauaska 
and other streams emptying into the St. John ; and that unless 
energetic measures are speedily adopted on the part of the State, 
our valuable timber in that region will be soon destroyed; and 
that from the representations, the depredations were committed 
by British subjects. 

This led to an investigation as far as the limited means posses- 
sed by the Government of this Slate permitted, and a resolve pas- 
sed Jan. 24, 1825, among other things requesting the Governor 
of this State to correspond with the Governor of the province of 
New-Brunswick relative to the depredations which had been 
committed by British subjects on the timber on the public lands 
of this State, west of the boundary line between this State and 
the province of New-Brunswick, as heretofore recognized; and 
to ascertain whether that government had authorized any persons 
to cut timber upon these lands or to settle thereon. 

The land agent of Maine was instructed in conjunction with 
such person as should be desiguated by Massachusetts, or if none 
should be appointed, without that agent, forthwith to take effec- 
tual measures to ascertain the extent of the depredations on the 
lands belonging to this btate and Massachusetts, or on lands be- 



48 

longing- to this State ; by whom the same have been committed, 
and under what authority, if any, such depredations were com- 
mitted. 

The Governor was also requested to forward each of the Sen- 
ators and Representatives in Congress from this state a copy of 
the report of the Committee on the part of the Governor's Mes- 
sage relative to depredations on the public lands, and of the Re- 
solves, and also to request them to take the necessary measures 
to obtain an early adjustment of the Northeastern boundary of 
this State. 

The Governor enclosed and forwarded the same on the 25th 
of January 1825. During the same session of the Legislature, 
February 22d, 182.5, they passed a Resolve respecting the set- 
tlers on the St. John and Madawaska rivers. " Whereas there 
are a number of settlers on the undivided public lands on the St. 
John and Madawaska Rivers, many of whom have resided there- 
on for more than thirty years ; therefore resolved, That the land 
agent of this State, in conjunction with such agent as may be ap- 
pointed for that purpose, on the part of Massachusetts, be, 
and he is hereby authorized and directed to make and execute 
good and sufficient deeds, conveying to such settlers in actual 
possession, as aforesaid, their heirs and assigns, one hundred 
acres each, of land, by them possessed, to include the improve- 
ments on their respective lots, they paying the said agent for the 
use of the State, five dollars each, and the expense of surveying 
the same. 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, June 11, 1825, did 
provide by Resolve among other things — " Whereas there are a 
number of settlers on the St, John and Madawaska rivers, many 
of whom have resided there more than thirty years, therefore re- 
solved, That the land agent of this Commonwealth in conjunc- 
tion with such agent has been or may be appointed for that pur- 
pose on the part of the State of Maine, be, and the same is hereby 
authorized and directed to make good and sufficient deeds, con- 
veying to such settlers in actual possession as aforesaid, their heirs 
and assigns, one hundred acres each of land by them possessed 
to include their improvements on their respective lots, thev pay- 
ing to the said agent, for the use of this Commonwealth five dol- 
lars each, and the expense of surveying the same." 

The agents thus authorized did in the autumn of that year 
proceed up the St. John to the Madawaska settlement, and 
thence to the mouth of the Maryumpticook, and surveyed, and 
conveyed, two lots of land, on the 3d of October, to John Ba- 
ker and James Bacon, citizens of this State. They had settled 
above the French neutrals oa the St. John anil its waters ; 



49 

and at the time when the settlements on the lots were commen- 
ced, there was no settlement within several miles of them. They 
also posted up notices, stating their authority, and proposing to 
give deeds, according to the Resolves under which they acted. 

This year Maine and Massachusetts, in continuing their sur- 
veys of the undivided lands, surveyed all which had not been 
previously done, and conveyed two ranges of townships on the 
meridian line running north from the Monument at the source 
of the St. Croix, and above Mars Hill, to a place within a few 
miles of the river St. John. The two grants of Massachusetts 
made in December 1807, to the town of Plymouth, and in Jan. 
1808, to William Eaton,' on the river Aroostook, according to 
surveys made in 1807, compose a part of the ranges. 

In a letter bearing date May 23, 1825, from the British min- 
ister at Washington to the Secretary of State of the U. States, 
in answer to his of the 27th March preceding, complaining of 
the encroachments of the inhabitants of New Brunswick, com- 
mitted upon lands of Maine and Massachusetts, in cutting and 
carrying away timber within the boundaries of those States — and 
the places where the trespasses were committed were also des- 
cribed in the accompanying papers, to be on the Aroostook and 
Madawask? rivers. 

The British Minister in reply, states, that he had made in- 
quiries of Sir Howard Douglass, the Governor of New^ Bruns- 
wick, and had been assured by him, that the charge, as far as the 
Government of the provinces was concerned, was unfounded, 
and that he should use his best endeavors to put a stop to prac- 
tices in themselves so disgraceful. It was further stated by Sir 
Howard, "that in assuming the Government of New Bruns- 
wick, he found that licences to cut timber, and other acts of 
sovereignty, had long been exercised on the part of Great Bri- 
tain over certain tracts of land in which the Bestook," (Aroos- 
took) " and Madawaska were included, heretofore well under- 
stood to belong to New Brunswick, but subsequently claimed by 
the Commissioners of the United States appointed to negotiate 
with the British Commissioners for adjusting the boundary line 
of the respective provinces : to these claims no disposition was 
ever shewn, on the part of Great Britain, to accede." 

It is not supposed that Sir Howard intended to misrepresent 
facts, because it would be entirely inconsistent with the honorable 
character which he is supposed to sustain ; but acquitted of that 
charge, his representations must be attributed to ignorance of the 
subject, or want of research into the premises. Compare the his- 
tory of the negotiation of the provisional treaty of peace in 
1782, the doings of the Commissioners under the fifth article of 



50 

the treaty of 1794 — more especially the argument of the British 
agent, and all the correspondence which preceded the treaty of 
Ghent, wherein the British Commissioners so often and so re- 
peatedly ask the country, in which the Madawaska settlement 
is included as a cession, and are so often denied by the Ameri- 
can Commissioners, on the ground that they possess no author- 
ity to make a cession, and no further comment is necessary to 
shew the falsity of his representations. 

It i3 further said by Sir Howard " In fact by a reference to 
documents in the possession of the British Colonial department it 
appears that the settlement at Madawaska in the province of New 
Brunswick was made under a $>raut from the Crown upwards of 
thirty years ago, so late as the year 1810 no claim had been ad- 
vanced by the United States, although th settlement had been 
established at the time for upwards of twenty years under a grant 
from the Government of New Brunswick and had been constantly 
designated the Madawaska settlement." 

Admitting the fact, as to the antiquity of the settlement to be 
as stated, giving the utmost extent to both modes of expression, it 
commenced under grants about the year 1790, long after the 
treaty of 1 763. Unless the grants were within the province of 
Nova Scotia, they were intrusions ; that they were not within the 
province abundantly appears from all the documents before quot- 
ed in relation to the boundaries. No valid claim of national sov- 
ereignty can be based on such acts in the forum of honor, con- 
science or law. And no jurisdiction can, with any semblance of 
propriety be claimed beyond the actual possession; it cannot 
without violating the acknowledged principles, in such cases be 
extended by construction. If such were the facts and the settle- 
ments had been made as early as 1790 — if the British consider- 
ed that they had any claim to the territory on that account, it is 
extraordinary, that it should have been entirely overlooked by 
the government, its ministers and commissioners, and never have 
been discovered until 1817 or since that time; more especially 
wl en the treaty of 1794 and the discussions under the fifth ar- 
ticle of it wherein it was conceded that the line due north from 
the source of the St. Croix, wherever it should be established, 
crossed the St. John, to the line of the government of Quebec, 
and by a Reference to the map it will at once be seen that had 
the most westerly point been adopted which the British agent 
contended for, that the Madawaska settlement is west of the me- 
ridian and at all events within the United States. When also the 
subject of surveying the boundaries had been discussed on sev- 
eral occasions between that time and the treaty ofGh^nt, and 
when also during the whole discussion which led to that treaty of 
Ghent, the territory is sought as a cession and with great perse- 



51 

verance by a resort to every mode which circumstances or thou; 
own ingenuity suggested. 

But the facts as stated are not admitted, the settlement at Mad- 
awaska did not succeed, but had preceded many years, the 
grants, which Sir Howard states, and therefore cannot be said to be 
made under the grants. The settlement was made principally by 
French neutrals, whose ancestors had lived near the bay ol Fun- 
dy previous to the American revolution. They, to avoid the Bri- 
tish laws moved up theRivcr St John to a place called St. Anns, 
now Fredrickton. After the close of the war when the British 
established a town and military post at that place and circum- 
scribed them in their quarters, stimulated by their repugnance to 
the British, and desirous of living under their own regulations — 
they pursued their course up the river and established them- 
selves at Mada.vaska where they lived many years probably en- 
tirely unknown to the world — Some of their countrymen joined 
them from Canada — If the settlers or some of them now have 
grants from the Province of New-Brunswick, the reason for mak- 
ing such grants does not now appear. The intention of the Gov- 
ernment can be inferred only, from the facts disclosed, from 
which it most clearly follows, that they did not, by the intrusion 
consider themselves as extendihg their rights of property or ju- 
risdiction, not having stated the fact for that purpose until long 
since the treaty of Ghent. If the fact had been relied on by 
them as giving any claim the ministers who negotiated, the treaty 
of Ghent, while they were endeavoring by every means in their 
power to obtain the territory in which the Madawaska settlement is 
situated by cession, would not have been guilty of the omission. 

Sir Howard still further says " with regard to the timber cut 
by British subjects on the river Bistook (Aroostook) the very 
circumstance of its having been seized by Mr. Porter of the 
State of Maine proves that the inhabitants of that state consider 
themselves as at full liberty to appropriate all the timber in that 
district to their own use. In truth that territory is especially rep- 
resented bvthe Senate of Maine allying within the acknowledged 
boundaries of that S'ate. Now this is notoriously not the fact, 
the British Government contend that the northern boundary line 
of the United States, running from the source of the river St. 
Croix to the highlands is terminated at Mars hill which lies at 
the southwest of the Bistook (Aroostook) at least therefore the 
British territory declared to be the undoubted property of the 
State of Maine is but a point in abeyance. Both parties claim 
and it appears have exercised an equal right over it. 1 ' 

That the British pretended any claim to the territory to the 
westward of the meridian line from the source of the St. Croix 



52 

and southerly of the line of the Province of Quebec or lower- 
Canada was totally unknown to the United States until long after 
the treaty of Ghent and it seems to have been equally unknown 
to the British. The observation " This was notoriously not the 
fact" can only apply to a period subsequent to the treaty, when 
it had been deemed proper by individuals and the subordinate 
agents of the British Government to acquire by some means the 
territory which they could not demand as a right — The above 
observation does not appear to be true, from any tiling, which had 
transpired of a public character, between the American and British 
governments. — Such pretended and unfounded claims could not 
have been, and were not anticipated. But after all the preten- 
sions, the claim and exercise of right, he admits to be equal, which 
is extraordinary, when the whole is taken into consideration and 
contrasted with the recent origin of and bold assumptions on which 
they are founded. 

It has already been shewn, that Massachusetts has made sev- 
eral giants before 1S08, some of which were on the Aroostook 
near the meridian line, from the monument at the source of the 
ri\er St. Croix, and that she and Maine, had in addition to 
their general jurisdiction, exercised all necessary acts of par- 
ticular jurisdiction. And the British subjects found there, com- 
mitting depredations on the timber, by Mr. Porter, were there as 
mere trespassers not claiming any right or authority from any 
source. It was not until long after this period, tnat any per- 
sons were there under licences from the Province of New- 
Biunswick, which caused the mention of it in the Goveruor's 
message in Jan. 1825 The British claim, as they make it, is 
even void of plausibility, they ought not to have claimed the ter- 
ritory upon the Bistook, (Aroostook) and upper part of the St. 
John a d its tributary streams, as a part of the ancient province 
of Nova Scotia, but they ought to have continued the line from 
Mars hill, eastward to the Bay of Chaleurs, and have insisted 
that that was the northern line, thereby yielding a part of Nova 
Scotia, and have left the upper part of the St.John and its tributa- 
ries.and therlestigouche river,in the province of Quebec orLower 
Canada, and if by that means, they had violated one of their favo- 
rite principles of exposition, to wit, that the province which has 
the mouth, ought also to have ihe sources ol the river, still the 
whole would have been within 'he general sovereignty of Great 
Britain, one province only gaining more than the other lost; yet 
BUch a claim, though more plausible, by relieving them from the 
solecism of destroying tlip northwest angle, or rather converting 
the iioi-.tlovcst angle of N >va Scotia into a southwest angle, which 
can only be arrived at, by running first north for more thai) for- 



53 

ty miles from the monument, at the source of the river St. Croix, 
and then southwesterly for more than one hundred miles, would 
have been no better, nor would it be based on a more solid or 
substantial authority. 

The British Minister then observes " the Governor of New- 
Brunswick informs me, he does not consider himself at 
liberty to alter in any way the existing state of things 
as far as regards the district above mentioned, but he as- 
sures me that he will take especial care to keep well within the 
limits of the line of duty marked out for him and considering the 
shape which this question is now assuming he will feel it impera- 
tive on him to apply immediately for still more precise instruc- 
tions for guardance of his conduct in a matter of so much delica- 
te." 

More notice has been taken of the foregoing letter than its im- 
portance otherwise demanded, on account of its being the first 
document of an official character in the archives of this State, 
which goes to show the British claim as it had been made by 
their agent under the fifth article of the treaty of Ghent. 

The Secretary of State, Nov. 25th, 1825, wrote the gover- 
nor of this State, enclosing a copy of a note from the British 
Minister to him, and a copy of a note from Sir Howard Doug- 
lass to the British Minister — On the 25th December, 1825, the 
Governor of this State transmitted the Secretary of State of 
the United States, a letter with a copy of the resolve of this State 
respecting the settlers on the St. John and the Madawaska riv- 
ers under which the agent of the State acted — a copy of the re- 
solve of the legislature of Massachusetts respecting the same — 
also the report of the land agent of Maine, detailing particular- 
ly the transactions of the two agents under said resolves — From 
which report it appears that the land agents had pursued the 
authority, given them by the resolves, and had not done some 
of the acts complained of by the British. 

The subject of the northeastern boundary was again noticed 
by the Governor in his message to both branches of the legisla- 
ture the 7th Jan. 1826, which was answered by the legislature 
in a report on the 17th January, and a resolve on the 26th of 
January of the same year. " That the governor for the time 
being, be authorized and requested, to take such measures as he 
may think expedient and effectual to procure for the use of the 
Sate, copies of all such maps, documents, publications, papers 
and surveys, relating to the northeastern boundary of the Uni- 
ted States, described in the treaty of 1 783, and such other in- 
formation on that subject as he may deem necessary and useful 
for this State to be possessed of." 



54 

" That the Governor of this State in conjunction with the 
Governor of Massachusetts, (provided the said Commonwealth 
shall concur in the measure) be authorized to cause the eastern 
and northeastern lines of the State of Maine to be explored, 
and the monuments upon these lines, mentioned in the treaty of 
1783, to be ascertained in such a manner as may be deemed 
most expedient," 

The surveys of the unappropriated lands of Maine and Mas* 
sachusetts, were coutinued and five ranges of townships were 
surveyed, and extending from the line drawn west from the mon- 
ument and extending from that line to Fish river and near the 
river St. John. 

The Fish river road extending from the east branch of the 
Penobscot river, northwardly to Fish river, was laid out also 
under the authority of the States. 

The resolve was communicated to the Senators of this State 
in the Congress of the United Slates, and enclosed by the Gov- 
ernor on the day of its passage. And there was procured, in 
consequence of it, a copy of the general map compiled by the 
United States' surveyors, from surveys made under the fifth arti- 
cle of the treaty of Ghent. 

The subject was again presented to both branches of the leg- 
islature by the Governor, in his message, on the 4th of January 
1827 — And the Governor also by special message communica- 
ted a letter, from the Secretary of State of the United States, 
dated January 29th, of the same ye;ir, accompanied by a letter 
of Charles R. Vaughan, Esq. the British Minister, dated Jan. 
7, 1827, wherein he complains of the acts of Maine and 
Massachusetts, in surveying and laying out townships and roads, 
and concludes by saying, " i think it adviseableto make you ac- 
quainted without delay with the communication which I have re- 
ceived from the Lieut. Governor of New Brunswick, whom I 
beg leave to assure you cautiously abstains on his part from ex- 
ercising any authority in the disputed territory which could in- 
vite encroachments as a measure of retaliation." All which 
were considered and became the subject of a report in the legis- 
lature on the 12th day of February 1827, and a Resolve was 
passed thereon, on the 23d day of the same month, Respecting 
the Northeastern boundary of the State, to wit. — 

" Resolved, That the Governor be, and he is hereby request- 
ed to take all such measures, both in acquiring information and 
in procuring a speedy adjustment of the dispute according to the 
treat v of 1783 as he may deem expedient and for the interest 
of the State." 

To thi< period, nothing of any importance had been obtained 
under the Resolves of the State although they had been regular- 



55 

ly communicated, and all the information, which was in posses- 
sion of the government of this State consisted, in the lew and ve- 
ry few copies of letters from the British Minister, which had 
been elicited by the resolves of the State of Maine ; and be- 
yond that there was no official information of the proceedings of 
the commission under the fifth article of the treaty of Ghent, nor 
the claims set up by the British, except what was derived from 
public reports, vague in their nature and uncertain in their char- 
acter. It was not until long after the commissioners had termin- 
ated their labors, that any official communication was made, 
which tended to shew the British Claim, and even that from the 
looseness of its phraseology seemed to convey, no other distinct 
idea, than that, the British, from causes known to themselves, 
claimed all the country north and west of Mars hill, as a part of 
the ancient province of Nova Scotia, and even that did not ap- 
pear until near the middle of the year 1825. The delay to give 
information to the State of Maine, when it had been so often re- 
quested particularly in the letter of the Governor, of July 1820, 
to the executive of the United States, containing a request that 
some one might be added from the State of Maine to assist in 
the examination of the subject and considering that the sovreign- 
ty of the whole country to which the British had, in such an ex- 
traordinary manner and so contrary to the discussions which pre- 
ceded the treaty of Ghent, pretended a claim was in Maine, and 
that the government of the United States had no constitutional 
Authority to cede any portion of an independent sovreignty, 
directly or by construction, is certainly very extraordinary, — 
And it cannot fail to appear extraordinary that the same policy 
on the part of the government of the United States should be 
continued, when by uniting Maine in the controversy all reasona- 
ble ground of complaint on her part would have been removed, 
at least, if she had in her sovereign capacity engaged in the con- 
troversy, she must have been concluded by the result. If she 
had mismanaged her concerns that could never have been 
brought up as a reasonable cause of complaint against the United 
States. Maine as she was in a state of profound ignorance had 
no opportunity to aid or assist the United States nor does she 
claim that she has a right to interfere in the course its government 
chooses to adopt, but she has the right of reading the constitution 
of the United Stites ofjudging for herself and if She is deprived 
of the exercise of her sovereignty and her property, she has a 
right to remonstrate and assert her rights, and by force of the 
original compact she is entitled to the aid and assistance of the 
independent sovereignties constituting the United States, to rein- 
state her in that of which she has been deprived, by an unjust and 
unconstitutional exercise of power. 



56 

The promptness, decision, perseverance and ability with 
which ttie Governor has executed the request contained in the 
last resolve, merits the encomiums and approbation of the 
State. If further comment were necessary, the fact that all 
the information which had been so long, but unsuccessfully 
sought, was obtained, speaks a language more satisfactory to 
him and the State, than any thing we could add. As to the 
positions taken and maintained by the Governor, they must be 
in accordance with the views and common sense of the State, 
and we cannot present his discussions in a clearer or more ac- 
ceptable light, than to request a fair, candid and impartial ex- 
amination of them. With these remarks and without further 
comment, the correspondence between him and the govern- 
ment of the United States is annexed. 

Thus we have detailed at some length, the principal facts 
and circumstances touching the title and the extent of the ti- 
tle of the State to territory and jurisdiction, from which it 
appears, that our title is perfect to all the territory bounded 
by the southern line of the province of Lower Canada, to wit 
by the line drawn, from the head of Connecticut river, along 
the lands, which limit the sources of the rivers, that fall into 
the river St. Lawrence, to the head of the bay of Chaleurs, 
and westward of the line drawn due north from the source of 
the river St Croix to that line, being the line described and 
adopted by the British Government long before the revolution 
and being the lines which are also described and adopted by 
the provisional, and definitive treaties of peace. — That the 
British government have alwavs, directly and indirectly con- 
ceded our title, in all the negotiations and discussions on the 
subject prior to the discussions under the fifth article of the 
treaty of Ghent, and made no claim of title founded on any 
intrusion of theirs, the ministers, who sought it as a cession, 
not having urged or even stated the fact, except by wav of al- 
lusion, and that Massachusetts and Maine have always exer- 
cised jurisdiction according to the title of Maine and have con- 
tinued their progress of surveys, sales and settlements, and 
other acts, and that the United States have always exercised 
general jurisdiction and did in 1820 exercise acts of jurisdic- 
tion as far as there was any occasion for it : — That there was 
no reason, from any knowledge in possession of the United 
States, until very recently, and still more recently in posses- 
sion of this State, more immediatelv interested, -to suppose, 
that, if the British Government had crossed the above describ- 
ed lines, she would not, as soon as the lines were surves r ed, 
withdraw and cease to commit like acts of intrusion ; and it 
has also appeared from representations made by the British 
Minister to the Secretary of State, " that the Lieutenant Gov- 



57 

ernor of New Brunswick had given assurances that he would 
cautiously abstain from all acts of authority which could invite 
encroachments as a measure of retaliation." 

But notwithstanding all these facts circumstances and assur- 
ances, John Baker a citizen ef the State of Maine and the 
United States was arrested in his own dwelling house, situated 
on the land he purchased of, and holds by the deed from Mas- 
sachusetts and Maine, on a warrant and other process served 
by the Sheriff of the county of York, accompanied by armed 
men and in the night time, at least before Baker had risen 
from his bed, and was carried to Frederickton and thrown in- 
to prison where he is now confined. Processes have also been 
served, within our territory, on the Aroostook, and the cattle 
and property of our citizens have been taken away by the 
civil officers of New Brunswick. Baker is charged among 
among other things, with an intrusion and trespass on the pre- 
mises he holds under Massachusetts and Maine. 

When the Governor of this State had received notice that 
the sovereignty of the State, by the officer of the government 
of New Brunswick, had been violated, in the abduction and 
imprisonment of one of its citizens and other acts, he issued 
his proclamation, and commissioned an agent of the State to 
p d to the province of New Brunswick, to enquire into 

1 f the arrest and the other violations of the State 

/, and to demand of the Government of New B runs- 
restoration of Baker ; all which will more fully 
the documents annexed. The Governor has in this, 
usual promptness, discretion and ability performed 
to the State and its citizens. The agent in prosecu- 
ihe object of his commission proceeded to Frederick- 
capitol of New Brunswick, and notified the govern- 
f his arrival and official capacity. He was not received 
official capacity. From what cause that arose, whether 
their own policy or their misconstruction of the power 
authority of the Governor of this State, is not certain, 
jems to us there would have been no objection to the re- 
5 nition of the agent of this State, had his commission been 
iy to demand a fugitive from justice, or that the Governor 
New Brunswick would consider, that he was Uanscending' 
is power, were he to send an agent to this State to demand a 
ugitive from his own government. Notwithstanding he was 
not received in an official character, we are happy to have it 
in our power to say, that he was politely received by the gen- 
tlemen of the place. The object of his age: 'v, therefore, so 
far as it related to the arrest and imprisonment of Baker, to- 
tally failed, as it did also in some other respects. 
His official capacity embraced two objects. 



5S 

1st. To demand a delivery of persons. 

2d. To obtain public information. 

If not recognized for any other purpose, he might have been 
permitted as a person authorized to inquire into the truth ot 
facts, important to the rights of the people of the State and 
peace of the Country. 

From all the facts, we cannot perceive on what ground they 
can justify the violation of the State and National sovereignty 
in the arrest of Baker, on his own soil and freehold, which 
he holds in fee under the States of Massachusetts and Maine, 
and the other acts of their officers on the Aroostook. On the 
ground of title they have no justification, and they can only 
justify themselves on the ground of a possession de-facto, which 
cannot by the acknowledged principles of law be extended 
beyond actual accupation. In the case of Baker thesettlemen 
on his lot was commenced not within even a possession de facto 
feeble and slender as that would be ; and in relation to the 
Aroostook there is not even a possession of any kind, un- 
less it has been acquired by the lawless depredations of indi- 
viduals for which they have, from time to time, atoned by 
settlements with the agents of the State of Maine. Even the 
few, who have settled on the Aroostook, settled there consid- 
ering it to be within this State and intending also to settle out 
of the province of New Brunswick. The course pursued by 
the British must be accounted for on another principle, than 
" a cautious abstinance of the exercise of authority which 
could invite encroachments as a measure of retaliation." 

When the British are thus attempting to extend their intru- 
sion and imprisoning and otherwise harrassing by legal process 
citizens of Maine, they have constitutional claims on her pro- 
testion; and although Massachusetts and Maine from the treaty 
of peace have exercised the same jurisdiction overall the wild 
lands which had not been particularly appropriated for culti- 
vation to this time ; if such acts are repeated it cannot be ex- 
pected that Maine will be a quiet spectator. It will be her 
duty to enforce her laws within her own jurisdiction, and to 
protect her own rights and the rights of her citizens. 

The Government of the United States have a duty to per- 
form towards the State, and its citizens, not less towards those 
who arc forcibly taken from the territory, and imprisoned, 
than towards those who are taken from the national marine. 
An agent has been sent to the province of New-Brunsiwck 
who has returned, and we have a confidence that the whole 
business will be adjusted, and that the constitutional rights 
of the State and the liberties and rights of the citizens will 
be protected and preserved. 

Your committee impressed with the importance of the subject 
to this State and the United States, and approving most cor- 



59 

uially, of the measures taken by the Governor, believe from 
the past that the State has a well founded assurance that its 
best interests will be protected and its constitutional rights 
preserved. 

JOHN L. MEGQUIER. 

REUEL WILLIAMS. 

JOSHUA W. HATHAWAY. 

JOHN G. DEANE. 

HENRY W. FULLER. 

WILLIAM VANCE. 

JOSHUA CARPENTER. 

RUFUS BURNHAM. 



STATE OF MAINE. 

House of Representatives, Jan. 26, 1828. 

All which with the annexed Resolve and Documents is re- 
spectfully submitted by Order of the Committee. 

JOHN G. DEANE. 



House of Representatives, Feb. 14, 1828. 

This Report was read, considered, and unanimously accepted. 
Sent up for concurrence. 

JOHN RUGGLES, Speaker. 

Attest, JAMES L. CHILD, Clerk of the House of Representatives. 



In Senate, Feb. 16, 1828. 

This Report was read, considered, and unanimously accepted, 
in concurrence with the House of Representatives. 

ROBERT P. DUNLAP, President. 

Attest, EBENEZER HUTCHINSON, Secretary of the Senate. 



60 



STATE OF MAINE. 



A Resolve relating to the North-Eastern Boundary. 

Resolved^ That the Governor be, and he hereby is requsted 
to transmit a copy of the Report of the Committee, to whom 
was referred so much of his communication, made to the Le- 
gislature, as relates to the North Eastern Boundary of this 
State, to the President of the United States, to the Governor 
of each State in the Union, and two copies to each of our 
Senators and Representatives in Congress, and each of our fo- 
reign Ambassadors; and that one hundred and fifty copies be 
at the disposal of the Governor. 

In the House of Representatives, Feb. 16, 1828. 
Read and passed. 

JOHN RUGGLES, Speaker. 
Attest— JAMES L. CHILD, Clerk. 

IN SENATE, Feb. 18, 1828. 
Read and passed. 

ROBERT P. DUNLAP, President. 
Attest— EBENEZER HUTCHINSON, Secretary. 

February 18, 1828.... Approved. 

ENOCH LINCOLN. 



ERRATA. 

p i.-i 5.- In-' 1 1 in the '-."-•! line fiom the lop, the word < ANNoT, between the words connexion and '» 
i . .— In iln fijth Hm from (In- bottom, title 6 and insert 5, so tha< it will read t539*in4terfd of lb'35. 

P .. i .. \ i the bottom, dele 7, B, 9, uid r< id 8, 9, 10. 

Pace in.- Ph i in- i in word fn, .i( the commencement of the t < .^ . One, insert tin- «»l <>V 

I —In the lull Inn i,i,i,i iln- lii.it. mi . I. !•■ treatywtu nnd insert TREATIES WERE; and at the 
end ofthe same line, dele it bioi and Insert I'll i \ WKUK. 

Ie-Ure8th line from the b ottom, after the ward jfni !il I read, TO THE EASTERN PART 

OF THE UNITED STATES. 
At the end oi thi 16th line from the top, after the word the, read,ANG LE. 
[n the 12th line from the lop, after the word latitude, read, DDE WEST HY A LINE ON 
SAID I Mill DE. 
P 16 uid 17. -In all places where the word Qroortoolc occurs, read, V.ROOSTOOK. 
i 19, in ih. 7ih li.i. from the top, between the words conveyed and too, insert OF. 
i- -in iln J.I line from the bottom, dele not, and read MAY HAVE, 



APPENDIX* 



Jin Extract from the grant of James \si, to Sir William Alexan- 
der, (afterwards Lord Sterling,) passed September 10, 1621. 

We do by these presents give, grant and convey to the said 
Sir William Alexander his heirs and assigns, all and singular the 
lands upon the Continent, and the Islands situate, lying, and being 
in America, within the head or promontory commonly called 
Gape Sable, in the latitude of forty-three degrees, nearly or 
thereabouts, from that promontory along the shore, stretching 
to the west to the bay commonly called St. Mary's Bay, thence 
to the north by a direct line crossing the entrance or mouth of 
the great bay, which extends Eastward, between the countries of 
the Siroquois and Etchemins, so commonly called, to the river 
commonly called by the name of the Holy Cross, or the Saint 
Croix, and to the furthest source or spring, upon the western 
branch of the same, which first mingles its waters with those of 
the said river; thence by an imaginary direct line, to be drawn 
or run through the country, or over the land, to the north, to the 
first bay, river or spring emptying itself into the great river of 
Canada; and from thence running to the East, along the shores 
of the said river of Canada, to the river, bay or harbor common- 
ly called and known by the name of Gachepe or Gaspee, and 
from thence southeast to the Islands called Baccalaos or Cape 
Breton, leaving the same Islands upon the right, and the Gulph 
of the said river or bay of Canada and Newfoundland, with tlie 
Islands thereunto belonging, upon the left ; and from thence to 
the head or promontory of Cape Breton aforesaid, lying near the 
latitude of forty-five degrees or thereabouts, and from the said 
promontory of Cape Breton, to the southward and westward 
to Cape Sable aforesaid, the place of beginning, including 
and comprehending within the said coasts and shores of the 
sea, and the circumferences thereof from sea to sea, all the 
lands upon the Continent, with the rivers, torrents, bays, shores, 
islands or seas, lying near to, or within six leagues from any part 
thereof, on the western, northern, or eastern parts of the said 
coasts and precincts of the same, and to the southeast where Cape 
Breton lies, and to the southward thereof where Capo Sable lie*, 



2 

all the seas and islands, to the south, within forty leagues of the 
said shores, including the great island commonly called the Isle 
of Sable or Sablon, lying south-south-east in the ocean, about 
thirty leagues from Cape Breton aforesaid, and being in the lati- 
tude of forty-four degrees, or thereabouts. 

All which lands aforesaid, shall at all timesjiereafter be called 
and known by the name of Nova Scotia or New Scotland, in 
America. And if any questions or doubts shall hereafter arise 
upon the interpretation or construction of any clause in the pres- 
ent letters patent contained, they shall all be taken and interpre- 
ted in the most extensive sense, and in favor of the said Sir Wil- 
liam Alexander, his heirs and assigns aforesaid. Moreover, we, 
of our certain knowledge, our own proper motion, regal authori- 
ty, and royal power, have made, united, annexed, erected, creat- 
ed and incorporated, and we do, by these our letters patent, 
make, unite, annex, erect, create, and incorporate the whole and 
entire province and lands of Nova Scotia aforesaid, with all the 
limits thereof, seas, &,c. ; officers and jurisdictions, and all other 
things generally and specially abovementioned, into one entire 
and free dominion and baron}', to be called at all times hereafter 
by the aforesaid name of Nova Scotia. 



NO. 2. 

Extract from the grant of Charles the 2d, to James, Duke of 
York, dated \2th of March, 1663. 

Know ye that we, for divers good causes, &c. have, he. and 
by these presents, &tc. do give and grant unto our dearest broth- 
er, James, duke of York, his heirs and assigns, all that part of the 
main land of New England, beginning at a certain place, called 
or known by the name of St. Croix, next adjoining to New Scot- 
land, in America ; and from thence extending along the sea 
coast unto a certain place called Pemaquie or Pemaquid, and so 
up the river thereof, to the farthest head of the same as it tend- 
eth northward ; and extending from thence to the river Kimbe- 
quin, and so upwards, by the shortest course to the river of Can- 
ada, northward. And also all that island or islands commonly 
called by the several name or names of Matowacks or Long Isl- 
and, situate, lying and being towards the west of Cape Cod and 
the Narrow Higansets, abutting upon the main land between the 
two rivers, there called or known by the several names of Con- 
necticut and Hudson's river; together, also, with the said river, 



8 



called Hudson's river, and all the lands from the west side of Con- 
necticut river, to the east side of Delaware hay. And also all 
those several islands, called or known hy the names of Martin's 
Vineyard, and Nantukes, or otherwise Nantucket. 



MO. 3. 

Extract from the Charter of the Province of the Massachusetts bay, 
in New-England, dated 1th Oct. 1691, 3d William $• Mary. 

William and Mary, by the grace of God, King and Queen of 
England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, defenders of the faith, 
&tc. to all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting : We 
do by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, will and 
ordaiu, that the territories and colonies, commonly called or 
known by the names of the colony of the Massachusetts Bay and 
colony of New Plymouth, the province of Maine, and the terri- 
tory, called Acadia or Nova Scotia, and all that tract of land, 
lying between the said territories of Nova Scotia, and the said 
province of Maine, be erected, united and incorporated ; and we 
do, by these presents, unite, erect, and incorporate the same in- 
to one real province, by the name of our province of the Massa- 
chusetts Bay in New England ; and of our especial grace, cer- 
tain knowledge, and mere motion, we have given and granted, 
and by these presents, for us,ourheirs, and successors, do give and 
grant, unto our good subjects, the inhabitants of our said prov- 
ince or territory of Massachusetts Bay, and their successors, all 
that part of New England in America, lying and extending from 
the Great River, commonly called Monomack, alias Merrimack, 
on the north part, and from three miles northward of the said 
river to the Atlantic, or western sea or Ocean, on the south part 
and all the lands and hereditaments whatever, lying within the 
limits aforesaid, and extending as far as the outermost points or 
promontories of land called Cape Cod and Cape Malabar, north 
ai.-d south, and in latitude, breadth, and in length, and longitude, 
of and within all the breadth and compass aforesaid, throughout 
the main land there, from the said Atlantic or western sea and 
ocean, on the east part, towards the south sea, or westward, as 
far as our colonies of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the Nara- 
gansett country ; and, also, all that part and portion of Maine 
land, beginning at the entrance of Piscataqua harbour, and so to 
pass up the same into the river of Newichwannock, and through 
the same into the farthest head thereof, and from thence north- 



westward, till one hundred and twenty miles be finished, and from 
Piscataqua harbor mouth aforesaid, northeastward along the sea 
roust to Sagadehock,* and from the period of one hundred and 
twenty miles aforesaid, to cross over land from Piscata- 
qua harbor, through Newichwannock river; and also the north 
half of the Isles of Shoals, together with the Isles ofCapawack 
and Nantuckelt, near Cape Cod aforesaid ; and also the lands 
and hereditaments lying and being in the country or territory 
commonly called Acadie, or Nova Scotia, and all those lands 
and hereditaments lying and extending between the said country 
or territory of Nova Scotia, and the said river of Sagadehock, or 
any part thereof. 

That it shall and may be lawful for the said Governor and 
general assembly to make or pass any grant of lands lying with- 
in the bounds of the colonies formerly called the colonies of the 
Massachusetts Bay, and New-Plymouth, and province of Maine, 
in such manner as heretofore they might have done by virtue of 
any former charter or letters patent ; which grants of lands, with- 
in the bounds aforesaid we do hereby will and ordain to be and 
continue forever of full force and effect, without our further ap- 
probation or consent. And so as nevertheless, and it is our roy- 
al will and pleasure, that no grant or grants of any lands lying 
or extending from the river of Sagadehock to the gulf of St. 
Lawrence and Canada rivers, and to the main sea northward and 
eastward, to be made or past by the Governor and general as- 
sembly of our said province, be of any force, validity, or effect, 
until we, our heirs, or successors, shall have signified our appro- 
bation of the same. 



4. 

Copy of Col. Phillipp!;'' Commission for the Government of 
A ova Scotia — 1719. 
George by the Grace of God See. — To our trusty and well be- 
loved Richard Phillipps, Esq. Greeting : 
Know ye that we reposing especial Trust and confidence in the 

•The following words, riz. " Vnd up the river thereof to the Knybecky 
river, ami fhroug i i : . to the head thereof, and unto the land north- 

westward, until one h mdred and tw< nt) miles be i tided, being accounted 
from tbr mouth ofS : Ui Gorge's grants (from which 

■ lie dewtiptive p irl dI tl < boundaries of Maine in this charter is taken,) ,\\\- 
pcar to have been inadvertenth omitted, being necessarj to render those 
boundaries intelligible : an I »honl<l follow the won! Sagadehock, to which 
fixed 



prudence, courage, and loyalty of you the said Richard Phil- 
lipps, out of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere 
motion, have thought fit to constitute and appoint, and by these 
presents do constitute and appoint you the said Richard Phillipps, 
to be our Governor of Placentia in Newfoundland ;and our Cap- 
tain General and Governor in chief in and over our province of 
Nova Seoiia or Acadie in America : and we do hereby require 
and command you to do and execute all things in due manner 
that shall belong unto your said command, and the trust we 
have reposed in you, according to the several powers and di- 
rections granted or appointed you by this present Commission, 
and the instructions herewith given you, or by such further pow- 
ers, Instructions, or authorities as shall at any time hereafter be 
granted or appointed you, under our signet and sign manual or 
by our order in our Privy Council, and according to such rea- 
sonable Laws and Statutes, as shall hereafter be made and as- 
sented to by you, with the advice and consent of our Council 
and assembly of our said Province, hereafter to be appointed. 

And for the better Administration of Justice and manage- 
ment of the Public affairs of our said Province, We hereby give 
and grant unto you the said Richard Phillipps full power and 
authority to choose, nominate, and appoint such fitting and dis- 
creet persons as you shall either find there or carry along with 
you, not exceeding the number of twelve to be of our Council in 
our said Province, till our further pleasure be known, any Five 
whereof we do hereby appoint to be a Quorum. 




NO. 5. 

Draught of a commission for the Hon. Col. Cornwallu to be 
Governor of Nova Scotia — Aprils, 1749. 

George the second by the Grace of Goo, of Great Britain, 
France and Ireland King, Defender of the faith, &c. To our 
Trusty and well beloved The Hon. Edward Cornvvallis Esq. 
Greeting. Whereas we did by our Letters Patent under our 
Great Seal of Great Britain bearing date at Westminister the 
11th day of September in the second year of our Reign con- 
stitute and appoint Richard Phillipps Esq. our Captain General 
and Governor in Chief in and over our Province of Nova Sco- 
ria or Acadie in America with all Rights Members and Appur- 
nances whatever thereunto belonging for, and during our will 
^Sd Pleasure, as bv the said recited Letters Patent relation be- 



G 

ing thereunto had, may more fully and at large appear : Now 
know you that We have revoked and determined, and by these 
presents, do revoke and determine, the said recited Letters Pa- 
tent and every clause, article and thing therein contained ; and 
further know you, that We, reposing especial Trust and confi- 
dence in the prudence, Courage and Loyalty of you the said Ed- 
ward Cornwallis, of our especial Grace, certain knowledge, and 
mere motion, have thought fit to constitute and appoint, and by 
these presents do Constitute and appoint you the said Richard 
Cornwallis to be our Captian General and Governor in Chief in 
and over the Province of Nova Scotia or Acadie in America, with 
all the Rights, members and appurtenances whatever thereunto 
belonging. 

18th March 1752. The Commission given to Peregrine 
Thomas Hopson, as Governor of the Province of Nova Scotia is 
the same, mutatis mutandis, as that given to Edward Cornwallis 
Esq. 



sro 6. 



Extract from the Proclamation of the King of Great Britain, of 

the 1th oj October, 1763, establishing four governments. 

BY THE KING, A PROCLAMATION. 

George R. 

Whereas we have taken into our royal consideration the ex- 
tensive and valuable acquisitions in America, secured to our 
Crown, by the late definitive treaty of peace, concluded at Paris 
the 10th day of February last; and being desirous that all our 
loving subjects, as well of our kingdoms, as of our colonies in 
America, may avail themselves, with all convenient speed, of the 
oreat benefits and advantages which must accrue therefrom to 
Their commerce, manufactures, and navigation ; we have thought 
fit, with the advice of our privy council, to issue this our royal 
proclamation, hereby to publish and declare to all our loving sub- 
jects, that we have, with the advice of our said privy council, 
granted our letters patent under our great seal of Great Britain, 
to erect within the countries and islands, ceded and confirmed 
to us by the said treaty, four distinct and separate governments, 
styled and called by the names of Quebec, East Florida, West 
Florida, and Grenada, and limited and bounded as follows, viz. 

First, the government of Quebec, bounded on the Labrador 
roast by the river St. John, and from thence by a line drawn from 



the head of that river, through the Take St. John, to the south 
end of lhe lake Nipissim ; from thence the said line crossing the 
river St. Lawrence and the lake Champlain in forty five degrees 
of north latitude, passes along the highlands ivhich divide the 
rivers that empty themselves into the said St. Lawrence from 
those which fall into the sea ; and also along t he north coast of 
the Baye des Chaleurs, and the coast of the Gulf of St Lawrence 
to Cape Rosieres, and from thence, crossing; the mouth of the 
river St. Lawrence, by (he west end of the island of Anticosti, 
terminates at the aforesaid river St. John. 

Representation to his Majesty with the draught of a commis- 
sion for Charles Lawrence, Esq. to he Governor of Nova Sco- 
tia. 

To the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 

May it please Your Majesty. 
In obedience to your Majesty's Order in Council, dated the 
18th inst. we have prepared the draught of a commission for 
Charles Lawrence, Esq. to be Captian General and Governor 
in chief of your Majesty's Province of Nova Scotia, in Ameri- 
ca, which being in the usual form, we herewith humbly lay it be- 
fore your Majesty, and shall prepare the necessary instructions 
for him with all possible dispatch. 
Which is most humbly submitted. 

(signed) DUNK HALIFAX, 
J. PITT, 

JAMES OSWALD, 
ANDREW STONE. 
Whitehall, Dec. 18, 1755. 



]tfO. 7. 

Governor Ellis^s Commission, April 1, 1761. 

George the third by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, 
France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, he. To our 
Trusty and well beloved Henry Ellis, Esq. Greeting. Whereas 
our late Royal Grandfather of blessed memory, did by his Let- 
ters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain bearing date 
at Westminster the of in the year of His 

Reign, constitute and appoint Charles Lawrence, Esq. Captain 
General and Governor in Chief, in and over our Province of 
Nova Scotia or Acadie in America, with all the Right*, Members 



nail appurtenances whatever thereunto belonging for and during 
His late Majesty's Will and Pleasure, asby the said recited Let- 
ters Patent, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at 
large appear : Now know you that We have revoked and deter- 
mined, and by these Presents, do revoke and determine, the said 
recited Letters Patent, and every clause, article and thing there- 
in contained, and further know you that We, reposing especial 
Trust and confidence in the Prudence, Courage and Loyalty of 
you the said Henry Ellis, Esq. of our Especial Grace, certain 
knowledge and mere motion, have thought fit to constitute and 
appoint and by these presents do constitute and appoint you the 
said Henry Ellis to be our Captain General and Governor in 
Chief, in and over our Province of Nova Scotia or Acadie in 
America, with all the Rights, Members and appurtenances what- 
ever thereunto belonging. 



Draught of a Commission for Montague Wilmot, Esq. to be Gov- 
ernor of Nova Scotia, dated October, 1763. 

George the third by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, 
France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith fyc. To our 
Trusty and well beloved Montague Wilmot, Esq. Greeting. — 
Whereas we did by our Letters Patent under the Great Seal of 
Great Britain dated at Westminster the day of 

in the first year of our Reign, constitute and appoint Henry El- 
lis, Esq. Captain General and Governor in Chief, in and over our 
Province of Nova Scotia or Acadie in America, with all the 
Rights, Members and Appurtenances thereunto belonging for 
and during our will and pleasure, as by the said recited Letters 
Patent, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at large 
appear : Now know you that we have revoked and determined 
and by thesePresents do revoke and determine the said recited 
Letters Patent and every clause, article and thing therein con- 
tained. 

And further know you, that We, reposing especial Trust and 
confidence in the Prudence, Courage and Loyalty of you the 
said Montague Wilmot, of our especial Grace, certain knowledge 
and mere motion, have thought fit to constitute and appoint, and 
by these Presents, We do constitute and appoint you, the said 
Montague Wilmot to be our Captain General and Governor in 



Chief it) and over our Province of Nova Scotia, bounded on the 
Westward by a line drawn from Cape Sable across the entrance 
of the Bay of Fundy, to the month of the river St. Croix, by the 
said river to its source and by a line drawn due North from 
thence to the Southern Boundary of Our Province of Quebec, to 
the Northward by the same boundary as far as the Western ex- 
tremity of the Bfiye des Chaleurs : To the Eastward by the said 
Bay and the Gulph of St. Lawrence to the cape or promontory 
called Cape Breton, in the Island of the same name, including 
that Island, the Island of St. Johns, and all other Islands within 
six Leagues of the coast, and to the southward by the Atlantic 
Ocean from said Cape to Cape Sable aforesaid, including the Isl- 
and of that name and all other Islands within forty Leagues of 
the coast, with all the Rights, Members and appurtenances what- 
soever thereunto belonging. i 



NO. 9. 

Governor Legges' Commission. \ 

^George the third, by the Grace of Gor>, of Great Batain, France 
and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, he. — '.^o our trusty 
and well beloved Francis Legge, Esq. Gu.EETiNd: 
Whereas, we did, by our letters patent, under oiv great seal 
qf Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the eleventh day 
of August, in the sixth year of our reign — constitute md appoint 
William Campbell, Esq. commonly called Lord William Camp- 
bell, Captain General and Governor in Chief, in and over our 
Province of Nova Scotia, in America, bounded on the westward 
hy a line drawn from Cape Sable across the entrance of the bay 
of Fundy,to the mouth of the river St. Croix, by said river to its 
source, and by a line drawn due north from thence to the south- 
ern boundary of our Colony of Quebec. To the northward by 
the said boundary, as far as the western extremity of the baye dea 
Chaleurs. To the eastward by the said bay and the Gulph of 
St. Lawrence, to the cape or promontory called Cape Breton, in 
the island of that name, including that island, the island of Saint 
John, and all other islands within six leagues of the coast ; and 
to the southward by the Atlantic Ocean, from the said Cape to 
Cape Sable aforesaid, including the island of that name, and all 
other islands within forty leagues of the coast, with all the rights, 
members ?.nd appurtenances, whatsoever, thereunto belonging, 



10 

for and during our will and pleasure, as by the said recited let- 
ters patent, relation being thereunto had, ma}' more fully and at 
large appear ; now, know you, that we have revoked and deter- 
mined, and by these presents do revoke and determine, the said 
recited letters patent, and every clause, article and thing therein 
contained, and further, Know you that We, reposing especial con- 
fidence and trust in the prudence, courage and loyalty of you, 
the said Francis Legge, of our especial grace, certain knowledge 
and mere motion, We have thought fit to constitute and appoint 
you, the said Francis Legge, to be our Captain General and Gov- 
ernor in Chief of our said paovince of Nova Scot'i3, bounded on 
the westward by a line drawn from Cape Sable across the entrance 
of the Bay of Fmdy, to the mouth of the river St. Croix, by the 
said river to its source, and by a line drawn due north from 
thence to the southern boundary of our colonj' of Quebec : To 
the northward )y the said boundary, as far as the western ex- 
tremity of the 3ay des Chaleurs. To the Eastward, by the said 
Bay, and the Gulph of St. Lawrence, to the cape or promonto- 
ry — called C:pe Breton, in the island of that name including that 
island and all other islands within six leagues of the coast, except- 
ing our said Jsland of St. John, which we have thought fit to erect 
into a sepante government; and to the southward by the Atlan- 
tic Ocean, fom the said Cape to Cape Sable aforesaid, includ- 
ing the island of that name, and all other islands within forty 
leagues of he coast. With all the righis, members and appurte- 
nances whatsoever, thereunto belonging. 

And we Jo hereby require and command you to do and execute 
all things h due manner, that shall belong unto your said com- 
mand, anc the trust we have reposed in you according to the 
several powers and authorities granted or appointed yeu by the 
present Commission, and the instructions herewith given you or 
by such further powers, instructions and authorities, as shall at 
any time hereafter be granted or appointed you under our signet 
and Sign Manual, or by our order in our Privy Council, and ac- 
cording to such reasonable Laws and Statutes as are now in 
force, or shall hereafter be made or agreed upon by you, with 
the advice and consent of our Council, and the assembly of our 
said Province under your Government, in such manner and form 
as is hereafter expressed. 



II 

NO. 10. 

The act of the British Parliament of the 14th year of George 3d. 
1774) relating to the province of Quebec provides as follows : 

That all the territories, Islands and Counties in North A- 
merrea belonging to the Crown of Great Britain bounded on the 
south by a line from the Bay of Chalcurs along the highlands 
which divide the rivers which empty themselves into the river 
St. Lawrence from those which fall into the sea ; to a point in the 
45th degree of North Latitude on the Eastern branch of the river 
Connecticut, keeping the same latitude directly west through Lake 
Champlain, until in the same latitude it meets the river St. Law- 
rence, from thence up the Eastern bank of said river to Lake On- 
tario, thence through the Lake Ontario and the river commonly 
called Niagara, &t thence along by the eastern and south eastern 
bank of Lake Erie, following the said bank until the same shall 
be intersected by the Northern boundary granted by the Charter 
of the Province of Pennsylvania in case the s>ime shall be so inter- 
sected, and from thence along the said North and West bounda- 
ry of the said Province, until the said western boundary strikes 
the Ohio ; but iu case the said Bank of said Lake shall not be 
found to be so intersected, then following the said bank until it 
shall arrive at that point of the said bank which shall be nearest 
to the Northwest angle of the said Province of Pennsylvania, 
and thence by a right line to the said northwest angle of said 
Province, and thence along the western boundary of said Prov- 
ince until it strikes the Ohio, and along the bank of the said riv- 
er westward to the bank of the Mississippi, and North to the 
southern boundary of the territory granted to the Merchants ad- 
venturers of England trading to Hudson's Buy ; and also all such 
territories, Islands and Countries which have since the tenth day 
of February 176.3 been made part of the Government of New-. 
foundland, be and they are hereby during His Majesty's pleas- 
ure, annexed to and made a part of the Province of Quebec, as 
created and established bv the said Royal Proclamation of the 
7th of October, 1763. 



NO. 11. 

Extract from the British agenfs argument before the commis- 
sioners under the fifth article of the treaty of amity, commerce and 
navigation, concluded between the United States and Great Brit- 
ain, at London, Nov. 19, 1794. 

By the 12th Section of the Act entitled An Act to restrain 



fa 

the Trade arid Commerce of the province of Massachusetts-bay 
anil New-Hampshire, and Colonies of Connecticut, and Rhode 
Island and Providence plantations in North America, to Great 
Britain, Ireland and the British Islands in the West Indies, and to 
piohibit such Provinces and Colonies from carrying on any fish- 
ing on the banks of Newfoundland or other places therein men- 
i oned, under certain conditions and limitations.' They say, it 
is provided and enacted ' that the River which emptieth itself 
into Passamacadie or Passamaquaddy-bay on the western side, 
and is commonly called or known by the name of St. Croix Riv- 
er be held and deemed for all the purposes in this act contained 
to be the boundary line between the Provinces of Massachu- 
setts-bay and Nova Scotia. 

This act creates no new boundary, it merely recognizes, con- 
firms and establishes the River St. Croix as a boundary be- 
tween the Provinces of Nova Scotia in the patent to Sir William 
Alexander in 1621 ; which was agreed upon, settled known and 
acknowledged, as the boundary between the Province of Nova 
Scotia and the territory of New England, granted to the coun- 
cil of Plymouth in the year 1620, which after the surrender of 
their Grand Charter was the boundary between Nova Scotia and 
the territory granted to the Duke of York in 1664, which was 
recognized as the western boundary of Nova Scotia by the char- 
ter of William and Mary to the Province of Massachusetts-bay' 
in 1691, and which from the treaty of Utrecht in 1713 was the 
boundary between the Provinces of Massachusetts-bay and No- 
va Scotia, received and established by the Crown, and known, 
acknowledged and acquiesced in by the Government of Mas- 
sachusetts-bay. 

That from the time of the passing of this act of Parliament 
in 1774, the boundaries of the Province Nova Scotia remained 
unaltered to the treaty of peace in 17S3 will not, it is presumed, 
be denied. And it will not bo difficult now to show that the 
River Scoudiac, under the name of the River Saint Croix form- 
ed a part of the boundary described in that treaty. 

It is sufficient here to observe, that at the time the treaty ot 
Peace was made in 17S3, the Provinces of Quebec and Nova 
Scotia belonged to and were in the possession of the Crown of 
Great Britain, and that his Britannic Majesty at that tira* 
bad &u undoubted right t" cede to the United States of A- 
mericasuch part of these territories an he might think fit, and 
that in making the cession of the territory comprised within the 
boundaries of the United States as described in the second ar- 
ticle, of thr treaty of peaee^ his Majesty inu-t be supposed to 



1;J 

have used the terms describing these boundaries in the sense in 
which they had been uniformly understood in the British Nation, 
and recognized in public documents and acts of government. 
In this sense, and in no other, could they have then been under- 
stood, or can they now be claimed or insisted upon by the Uni- 
ted States. In this sense, and in no other, is his Majesty bound 
to give the possession. Whatever river was at that time known and 
recognized by his Majesty and the British Government as the 
River St. Croix, forming a boundary between the province of 
Massachusetts-bay and Nova Scotia, that River, and no other, 
can now be claimed as a part of the Eastern boundary of the 
United States. It is sufficient that in this act of Parliament the 
River Saint Croix is described by a particular location and 
boundaries which cannot be mistaken, known to both parties at 
the time, and assented to on the part of the United States by their 
accepting the act and not giving any local designation of the 
River which they now claim, or of any other river than that 
thus ascertained by precise description, and known by them to 
have been established and at the time contemplated by Great 
Britain as the boundary between the provinces. 

If this principle were once departed from, there would be no 
check to construction on the subject, though it would be fortu- 
nate to his Majesty's interests if he were not thus bound, as it 
might be clearly shown in flhat ease that the River Penobscot, 
once indiscriminately with other Rivers upon this coast called 
the St. Croix, was the true boundary, by which Nova Scotia or 
Acadie was ceded to his Majesty by the treaty of Utrecht, and 
ought in such case, by the principles of the law of Nations to be 
established as the Eastern boundary of the United States. 

But the words in the twelfth section of the Act of Parliament 
above recited do not in any wise relate to, or suppose any sub- 
sisting doubts about the locality or identity of the River called 
or known by the name of the St. Croix River, but have refer- 
ence, as has been fully shown to the ancient limits of the Province 
of Nova Scotia as established by the original grant of it to Sir 
William iUexander from King James the first, in the year 1621, 
recognized in all subsequent public documents and transactions 
relating thereto, and claimed by the Province of Massachusetts- 
bay as their Eastern boundary under the Charter of King Wil- 
iiam and Queen Mary in 1 691. 

EXTRACT, &c. 

The most accustomed and convenient rule in cases of this 
kind is to leave to each power respectively the sources of those 



14 

Rivers thai empty themselves, or whose mouths are within its 
Territory upon the Sea Coast, if it can he done consistently 
with, or in conformity with the intent of the treaty. If it can 
he shewn that this rule in the present case, can be adopted con- 
sistently with what has heen shown to he the intent of the treaty, 
it will form an unanswerable argument in favor of a compliance 
with the rule, more especially if a different construction will in- 
volve the inconveniences intended to be avoided by so just a 
principle of interpretation. 

Let us in this view attend to the words made use of in the 
Treaty describing the first station or boundary from which ali 
the other boundaries of the United States are to be traced, \\%. 
From the Northwest angle of Nova Scotia, viz, That angle 
which is formed by a line drawn due north, from the source of 
St. Croix River to the highlands, which divide those Rivers that 
empty themselves into the River St. Lawrence, from those 
which fall into the Atlantic Ocean. It appears from a map ac- 
tually compiled in most instances from actual surveys, an au- 
thentic copy of which is now before the Board, that a line 
drawn due north from the source of the Cheputnatecook River, 
or northern branch of the River Scoudiac or St. Croix will not 
intersect the highlands here described, but will intersect the Riv- 
er Restigouche, which empties itself into the bay of Chaleurs, 
which falls into the Gulph of St. La'wrence, and will also inter- 
sect the Metabediac Lake which is the head or source of a Riv- 
er likewise falling into the bay of Chaleurs. In addition there- 
fore to the argument drawn from the inconvenience resulting from 
its cutting off the sources of these Rivers, which discharge 
themselves within the British territory upon the sea coast ; the 
source ol this branch of the Scoudiac or St. Croix, cannot be 
the source intended by the treaty of peace, because in such case 
we cannot arrive at the Northwest angle of Nova Scotia, which 
is the first bound or station upon which the other boundaries de- 
pend, as they must be traced from thence, that is to say ' that 
angle which is found by a line drawn due north from the source 
of St. Croix River to the highlands which divide those rivers that 
empty themselves into the river St Lawrence from those which 
fall into the Atlantic Ocean.' For, if the fact be as above stated, 
should a line be traced due north from the source of the Chepul- 
natecook, if the high lands in such case are on this side or to the 
southward of the river Restigouche, they will divide the rivers 
that fall into the Atlantic Ocean, or bay ofFundy, from those that 
fall into the Gulph of St. Lawrence ; if they are between the river 
Restigouche ami the Metabediac lake they will divide the rivers 



II 

which from different sources unite and rail into the Gblpli of St. 
Lawrence, ifthey are beyond this lake, they will divide the rivers 
which fall into the Gulph of St Lawrence, from those which full 
into the river St Lawrence ; the requisite angle therefore will not 
be found upon this line. But if a line is traced due north from 
the source of the western or main branch of the river Scoudic or 
St, Croix, it will run to the westward of the sources of all the riv- 
ers that fall into the gulph of St. Lawrence and will strike the 
highlands which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlantic Ocean 
from those which empty themselves into the river St Lawrence 
and consequently give the requisite angle or first bound. 

There is certainly a clear distinction in the Grant to Sir Wm. 
Alexander between the river Saint Laurence and the Gulph of 
Saint Lawrence or rather of Canada ; the boundary line by this 
grant, after striking that river is to follow the course of it East- 
ward to Gaspee, which lies to the Northward of the bay of 
Chaleurs and afterwards the Gulph is mentioned, and the words 
made use of in the Grant seem to import a considerable distance 
Eastward, between the line where it strikes the River of Canada 
or Saint Lawrence ;.nd Gaspee. 

It is far from being certain that the ridge of high lands which 
divides the Rivers that empty themselves into the river St. 
Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, is con- 
tinued to the Eastward of the sources of the Rivers which fall 
into the Gulph of St. Lawrence, but whether thus continued or 
not, the inference is clear from the foregoing facts and reasoning 
that neither the Cheputnatecook nor consequently the Magagua- 
davic or any other River whose source is Eastward of the source 
of the Cheputnatecook can be the River intended under the name 
of the River St. Croix in the Treaty of peace. 

But to apply these facts to the point more immediately under 
consideration, whether a line due north from the source of the 
western or main branch of the River Scoudiac or St. Croix, will 
leave to each of the parties to the treaty the sources of those 
Rivers that empty themselves, or whose mouths are within its 
territory upon the Sea Coast respectively. 

The effect so far as it regards the United States is completely 
secured by the Treaty in all events, and thence we have further 
reason to suppose it was intended to be reciprocal in this respect r 
if a just interpretation will warrant it. 

A line due north from the source of the western or main branch 
of the Schoudiac or St. Croix, will fully secure this effect to the 
United States in every instance, and also to Great Britain in all 
instances except in that of the river St. John, wherein it become; 



" 16 

impossible by reason that the sources of this river are to the west- 
ward, not only of the western boundary line of Nova Scotia, but 
oi the sources of the Penobscot and even of the Kennebee, so that 
this north line must of necessity cross the St. John, but it will 
cross it in a part of it almost at the foot of the highlands and 
where it ceases to be navigable. But if a north line is traced 
from the source of the Cheputnatecook, it will not only cross the 
river St. John, within about fifty miles from Frederickton, the 
metropolis of New Brunswick, but will cut off the sources of the 
rivers which fall into the Bay of Chaleurs, if not of many others, 
probably of the Meramichi, among them which fall into the Gulf 
of St. Lawrence, and thereby be productive of inconvenient con- 
sequences to the two powers, if not of contention between them, 
instead of ' terminating sheir differences in such a manner, as 
may be best calculated to produce mutual satisfaction and good 
understanding' which is one of the principal and avowed objects 
of the Treaty, 

Had the treaty intended that this north line should intersect a 
number of rivers which eriipty their waters through a British prov- 
ince into the sea, a right of navigation or passage down those 
rivers would doubtless have been secured to the United States 
by the treaty. That this was not the intention of the treaty, not 
only appears from the facts and reasoning that have already been 
adduced, but from a further consideration, that in most, if not all 
the maps of the interior Country published before the year 1783 
although the sourses of the river Saint Croix are very inaccurate- 
ly laid clown, still it is very uniformly made to terminate in a 
lake near the eastern branch of the Penobscot, and a line drawn 
North from that termination upon those maps, will not intersect 
any of the rivers which empty themselves into the sea to the 
eastward of the mouth of the river Saint Croix except the river 
Saint Johns. This furnishes an unanswerable argument so far 
as any fair conclusions can be drawn from those maps in proof 
not only that the river Scoudiac, is the true ancient river Saint 
Croix and consequently intended by the Treaty ot Peace under 
the name of Saint Croix, but that its true source, is upon that 
western branch in a Lake, near to an eastern branch of the River 
Penobscot. 

If then there were any doubt remaining which is the true 
source of the River Saint Croix from which the line due north 
to the highlands is to be traced, the inconveniences above men- 
tioned would form the strongest argument, against a decision 
from which they would result, and in favor of that by which they 
will be avoided ; much more so when the latter decision will cor- 






17 

respond with and be supported by so many other incontestible 
proofs and arguments clearly establishing the River Scoudiac to 
the source of the western branch, to be the river Saint Croix 
truly intended under that name, in the treaty of Peace and form- 
ing a part of the boundary therein described; and the North- 
west angle of Nova Scotia mentioned in the same Treaty to be 
formed by a line drawn due north from that source to the high- 
lauds described in the Treaty. 

Whether therefore we follow the words of the grant to Sir 
William Alexander, by which we must be at all events conclud- 
ed ; or follow the main branch of the river retaining the same 
name ; or are governed by the uniform decision of geographers 
and historians of credit upon the subject, and the rules and prin- 
ciples of the Law of Nations for the interpretation of Treaties, 
we shall be led to the same place as the source of the River from 
which the line due north must be traced to the northwest angle 
of Nova Scotia. 

But even if it had not been known at the time of the grant to 
Sir Wm. Alexander that this river had two branches, and the 
grant had been expressed generally, to the furthest source of 
the river Saint Croix, still the main branch, or that retaining 
the name of the river at its mouth must have been followed to its 
source, not only to satisfy the words of the grant, but to give it 
its intended construction and operation. 

It clearly appears to have been the intention of the grant to 
give as large a territory to be erected into the province of Nova 
Scotia as the River Saint Croix could give by tracing a line due 
north from its source to the great river Canada, and it is express- 
ly provided in,the grant, contrary to the general rules for the con- 
struction ofthe Kings grants that ifany questions or doubts 
should thereafter arise upon the interpretation or construction, of 
any clause contained in the grant, that they should all be taken 
and interpreted in the most extensive sense and in favour of 
the said Sir Wm. Alexander. 

Having traced the original boundaries of the province of No- 
va Scotia, to the farthest source or spring ofthe river St. Croix, 
upon the western branch thereof, and thereby found the utmost 
western limits of the Province, it remains only to discover its ut- 
most Northern limits in order to ascertain the Northwest angle 
we are in search of. 

The Province of Nova Scotia at the time of the Treaty in 
1783, was, as has already appeared bounded to the northward 
by the southern boundary of the province of Quebec, which 
boundary was established by the Royal proclamation of the 7\h 

r» 
O 



18 

October, 1763, and confirmed by the act of the 14th Geo. 3 C. 
83, passed in the same year with the act of parliament already 
cited, by which it is enacted that all the territories, islands and 
countries in North America, belonging to the Crown of Great 
Britain bounded on the South by a line from the bay of Chaleurs 
along the highlands which divide the rivers that empty them- 
selves into the River St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the 
sea to a point in forty five degrees of Northern latitude on the 
eastern bank of the River Connecticut, &.c. be annexed to, and 
made a part and parcel of the Province of Quebec. 

As then at the Treaty of Peace in 1783, the northern limit 
of the Province of Nova Scotia, was " a line along the highlands 
which divide the rivers that empty themselves into the river 
Saint Lawrence, from those which fall into the sea," it unques- 
tionably follotvs, that the northwest, angle of Nova Scotia, at the 
time of the Treaty of Peace in 1783, was that angle which was 
formed by a line drawm due north from the source of the river 
Saint Croix to those highlands. If we now compare this angle 
with the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, described in the Trea- 
ty of Peace, viz : That angle which is formed by a line drawn 
due north from the source of Saint Croix river to the same high- 
lands, can it be said with any degree of propriety, that " the 
limits and boundaries of the province of Nova Scotia were un- 
known at the time of the treaty of peace in 1783, and that it 
therefore became necessary to give it a western boundary by the 
treaty itself, in these words, to wit : that angle which is formed 
by a line due north from the source of the river Saint Croix to 
the highlands ?" 

Can it be believed, or for a moment imagined, that in the 
course of human events, so exact a coincidence could havo hap- 
pened beiween the actual boundaries of the province of Nova 
Scotia and the boundaries of it described in this treaty, if the 
latter had not been dictated and regulated by the former ? 

Can any man hesitate to say he is convinced that the Com- 
missioners at Paris in 1783, in forming the 2d article of the trea- 
ty of peace, in which they have so exactly described this north- 
west angle, had reference to and were governed by the bounda- 
ries of Nova Scotia as described in the grant to Sir Wm. Alexan- 
der, and the subsequent alteration of the northern boundary by 
the erection of the province of Quebec ? 

Will not this conviction become irresistible, when he adverts 
to the reservation made to his Majesty in this article of* he trea- 
ty, " of such Islands, as then were, or theretofore had been. 
within the limits of the said province of Nova Scotia, and to the 



Islands included and comprehended within those limits as des- 
cribed in the grant to Sir William Alexander, some of which 
might have belonged to the United States, as lying within the 
limits of those States, but for the exception of them in the trea- 
ty? 

Let us now compare, the western boundaries of the province 
of Nova Scotia, granted to Sir William Alexander, with the cor- 
responding eastern boundaries of the United States. As the 
river St. Croix is not included in the grant to Sir William Al- 
exander, as stated by the agent of the United States ; and as 
it was not intended to be included, because as has been made 
to appear, this river St. Croix was an agreed boundary between 
the province of Nova Scotia erected by this grant, and the ter- 
ritory of New England, granted to the grand Council of Plym- 
outh, it follows that the line of this grant to Sir William Alexan- 
der, must legally be construed to run through the middle of the 
river, the river not being assigned inclusively to either territory. 

Upon this principle then, this part of the western boundaries 
of the province of Nova Scotia, in the grant to Sir William Al- 
exander, will be a north line, across tne mouth of the Bay of 
Fundy, to the river commonly called by the name of the St. 
Croix, and through the same, to the farthest source or spring 
upon the western branch thereof, including and comprehending 
all Islands within six leagues to the westward, northward and 
eastward, and within forty leagues to the southward of any part 
of the premises described in the grant. 

And the corresponding Eastern boundary of the United 
States, by the second article of the Treaty of Peace, is, " a line 
to be drawn along the middle of the river Saint Croix, from its 
mouth in the Bay of Fundy, to its source, including such Isl- 
ands as then were, or theretofore had been, within the limits of 
the said Province of Nova Scotia," referring to the province of 
Nova Scotia, of which the north-west angle before described 
was made the first station or boundary, from which the bounda- 
ries of the United States were traced. 

As it has already been shown that the source of this river 
Saint Croix, otherwise called Scoudiac, upon the western 
branch, and near to a branch of the Penobscot, to which there 
is a portage or carrying place from it ; the same place is evi- 
dently contemplated as the source from which the line due north 
to the highlands, is to be drawn, both in the grant to Sir Will- 
iam Alexander, and in the 2d article of the Treaty of Peace ; 
and consequently this part of the western boundary of Nova 
Scotia in the grant, is precisely the same with the correspond- 
ing eastern boundary of the United States in the treatv. 



20 

Thus the first principle stated in this argument is established 
beyond all contradiction, 'that by the second article of the 
Treaty of peace, it was intended that no part of the province of 
Nova Scotia should be thereby ceded to the United States, but 
that the province of Nova Scotia according to its ancient limits, 
should be and remain a part of the territories and dominions of 
his Majesty, as his Majesty had before that time held and pos- 
sessed the same.' 

And this principle being established, the necessity of examin- 
ing into and ascertaining precisely the ancient boundaries of the 
province of Nova Scotia, in the manner that it has been done, 
is clear and obvious, and the result of that examination com- 
pared with the boundaries in the treaty of peace, thus serves in 
its turn to confirm the principle. 

This principle being evident from the words of the Treaty 
of peace itself, no explanation of the treaty, by either party, 
inconsistent with this true and obvious intention of it, can be re- 
ceived consistently with any of the rules and principles of the 
laws of nations, universally acknowledged and admitted obliga- 
tory in such cases, as has already been made to appear, and 
will be more fully shown, in a more particular reply to the ar- 
guments advanced in support of the claim of the United States, 

From the foregoing facts and arguments, the under-written 
agent feels himself warranted in concluding that the river Scou- 
diac, is the river truly intended under the name of the river 
Saint Croix, in the Treaty of Peace, and forming a part of the 
boundary therein described ; and that the north-west angle of 
Nova Scotia, intended by the treaty,is that angle which is form- 
ed by a line drawn due north from the farthest source or spring 
of the western or main branch of the Scoudiac, to the highlands 
described in the treaty. 

As the final declaration to be made by this honorable Board, 
deciding what river is the river Saint Croix intended by the 
Treaty of Peace, must particularize the latitude and longitude of 
its mouth, as well as of its source, it may be proper and perhaps 
necessary in this place, to say a few words respecting the mouth 
of the river Scoudiac, which has been so fully proved to be the 
river Saint Croix, intended by the treaty. 

By an inspection of the plan of the surveys now before the 
Board, it will appear, in conformity to Champlain's authority, 
that its proper mouth, is where it empties itself into that part ol 
Passamaquady bay which was formerly called the bay of Saint 
Croix, and is now called Saint Andrews bay ; and this month is 
traversed by a line drawn from the north point of Saint An- 



21 

drews harbor, commonly called Joe's point, across the ri.ver 10 
the opposite point upon the western shore near to the place 
where Mr. Brewer now lives. In confirmation of this, the In- 
dians produced and examined before the Board, as witnesses 
on the part of the United States, have testified that from Brew- 
er's upwards, the waters are called Scoudiac; and from thence 
downwards, Passamaquoddy Bay. 

And the Author of the history of the district of Maine, also 
speaks of the proper mouth' of this river as being at or near St. 
Andrews, where he says, "The English now possess the coun- 
try as far west as the east bank of the Scoudiac at its mouth." 

It being established that the river Scoudiac, under the name 
of the river St. Croix, made a part of the original boundaries 
of the province of Nova Scotia, and continued to he a part of its 
western boundary at the time of the treaty of peace in 1783, it 
may be proper now to enquire whether that Province has in fact, 
exercised its jurisdiction agreeably to those limits; and to as- 
certain this fact, as far as it regards this western boundary, we 
can go no further back with any degree of accuracy, than the 
treaty of peace in 1783; for previous to the war, immediately 
preceding that period, this part of Nova Scotia, or Acadie, had 
been with little interruption, hi the hands of the French, not- 
withstanding the treaty of Utrecht, by which it was fully ceded 
to Great Britain. 

The whole country coming into the possession of his Britan- 
ic Majesty, by the treaty of 1763, we are from thence to date 
our enquiries respecting the jurisdiction, in fact exercised over 
this part of the country, down to the peace in the year 17S3. 

The Boundaries oJ the Province ol Nova Scotia, as describ- 
ed in the commissions to the Governors of it, from his Majes- 
ty during that period, conformed as we have seen to the bounda- 
ries of it, as described in the grant to Sir William Alexander, 
without any material variation, except the alteration 
northern limits occasioned by the erection of the provii f 

Quebec. 



NO. 12. 

Copy of the Declaration executed by the Commissioners — Viz. 

By Thomas Barclay, David Howell, and Egbert Benson, 
Commissioners appointed in pursuance of the fifth article of the 



22 

Treaty of Amity, Commerce and navigation between His Brit 
annic Majesty and the United States of America, finally to de- 
cide the question ' What River was truly intended under the 
name of the River Saint Croix mentioned in the Treaty of 
Peace between His Majesty and the United States, and forming 
a part of the boundary therein described' 

DECLARATION. 

We, the said Commissioners, having been sworn 'impartially 
to examine and decide the said question according to such evi- 
dence as should respectively be laid before us on the part of the 
British Government and the United States, and having heard 
the evidence which hath been laid before us by the agent of his 
Majesty and the agent of the United States, respectively appoint- 
cd'and authorized to manage the business on behalf of the re- 
spective Governments Have decided, and hereby do decide. The 
River herein after particularly described and mentioned to be 
the river truly intended under the name of the River Saint Croix 
in the said Treaty of Peace and forming a part of the Boun- 
dary therein described. That is to say, The mouth of the said 
River is in Passamaquodtfy Bay at a point of land called Joe's 
Point, about one mile northward from the northern part of 
Saint ^ndreuw Island, and in the Latitude of forty five degrees, 
five minutes and five seconds north, and in the Longitude of six- 
ty-seven degrees twelve minutes and thirty seconds west from 
the Royal Observatory at Greenwich in Great Britain, and three 
degrees fifty four minutes and fifteen seconds east from Harvard 
College in the University of Cambridge in the State of Massa- 
chusetts, and the course of the said river, upfromits said mouth, 
is northerly to a point of land called the Devil's Head, then turn- 
ing the said point, is westerly to where it divides into two streams, 
the one coming from the westward and the other coming from 
the northward, having the indian name of Cheputnatecook or 
Chibmticook, as the same may be variously spelt ; then up the 
said stream so coming from the northward to its source, which is 
at a stake near a yellow birch tree, hooped with iron, and mark- 
ed S. T. and J. H. 1797, by Samuel Titcomb and John Harris, 
the surveyors employed to survey the abovementioned stream 
.coming from the northward. And the said river is designated 
on the map hereunto annexed and hereby referred to, as farther 
descriptive of it by the letters ABC D E F G HIK and L,. 
The letter A being at its said source, and the course and distance 
of the said source, from (he Islam! al the confluence of the a- 
bovemeutioned two streams is. as laid down on the said map,. 



north five degrees and about fifteen minutes, west by the 
net, about forty eight miles and one quarter. 

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and 
seals, at Providence, in the Slate of Rhode Island, the twenty- 
fifth day of October, in tho year one thousand seven hundred 
and ninety-eight. 

(Signed) THOMAS BARCLAY, L. S. 
DAVID HOWELL, L. S. 
EGBERT BENSON, L. S. 
Witness, Edward Winslow, Secretary to the Commissioners. 



NO. 13. 

Copy of unexecuted Declaration. 

- By the commissioners appointed in pursuance of the fifth arti- 
cle of the treaty of Amity, commerce ami navigation be- 
tween his Britanic Majesty and the United States of America, 
finally to decide the question. What river was truly intended 
under the name of the river St. Croix, mentioned in the treaty of 
peace between his Majesty and the United States, and forming 
a part of the boundary therein described.' 

DECLARATION. 

We, the said Commissioners, having been sworn impartially, to 
examine and decide the said question, according to such evi- 
dence as should respectively be laid before us, on the part of the 
British Government and of the United States, and having heard 
the evidence which has been laid before us by the agent of his 
Majesty and the agent of the United States, respectively appoin- 
ted and authorised to manage the business in behalf of the re- 
spective Governments, have decided, and hereby do decide, that 
the river described as follows, viz : The source of it is where it 
issues from the Lake Genesagranagrumsis, one of the Scoudiac 
Lakes, and distant about five miles and three quarters, in a di- 
rect course from where the Cheputnatecook falls into it, and a- 
bout twenty miles and a half, also on a direct course from the 
point of land called the Devil's head, and from its said source, 
as far at least as to the said point of land, it has the Indian name 
of Scoudiac, and its course for that extent is easterly, and then 
turning the said point and leaving Oak point bay on the north, 
its course is southerly to its mouth, which is where it empties it- 
self into Passamaquaddy Bay, at a point of land called Joe'* 



24 

point, about one mile northerly from the northern point of the 
island of St. Andrews, and irj the latitude of forty-five degrees, 
live minutes, and five seconds north, and in the Longitude of 
sixty-seven degrees, twelve minutes, and thirty seconds west, 
from the royal observatory of Greenwich in Great Britain, and 
three degrees and fifty four minutes and fifteen seconds east from 
Harvard College in the University of Cambridge, in the State 
of Massachusetts, is the river truly intended under the name of 
the river St. Croix, mentioned in the said treaty of peace, and 
forming a part of the boundary therein described, and the map 
of it hereunto annexed, is hereby referred to as further descrip- 
tion of it. 

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands and 
seals, at Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, the 
day of in the year, one thousand seven hundred and 

ninety-eight. 

Providence. October 2Sd. 179C. 

Sir — 1 have considered with attention your letter of this day, 
and it appears to me evident that the adoption of the river Che- 
putnatecook as a part of the boundary between his Majesty's 
American dominions and those of the United States, in prefer- 
ence to a line drawn from the eastern most point of the Scoudiac 
Lakes, would be attended with considerable advantage. It 
would give an addition of Territory to the Province of New 
Brunswick, together with a greater extent of navigation, on St. 
John's river, and above all, a larger stretch of natural frontier 
calculated to prevent future difficulties and discussions between 
the two countries. If therefore by assenting to the proposal of 
the American agent, you can bring about the unanimous con- 
currence of the Commissioners in this measure, I am of opinion, 
that you will promote his Majesty's real interest, and I will take 
the earliest opportunity with a view to your justification of ex- 
pressing these my sentiments, on the subject to his Majesty's Sec- 
retary of State. 

I have the honor to be, 

with great truth and regard, 

Sir, Your most Obedient 
Humble Servant, 
(Signed) ROBERT LISTON. 

WARD CHIPMAN, Esq. 



25 
tfO. 14. 

Letter from the Governor of of Maine, to the Secretary of Slate 
of the United States. 

Portland, 20th March, 1827. 

Sir : Having had the honor to receive your letter of January 
29th last. I transmit, in reply, the accompanying * Report and 
Resolves, relative to the Northeaster i boundary of the State of 
Maine. The attention which you have heretofore paid to the 
adjustment of the United States' boundary, especially in anoth- 
er part of the Union, assures me, that yon will receive the doc- 
uments, I have mentioned, with that interest to which they are 
entitled. With the confidence which belongs to the patriotic 
and paternal character of the government ofthe Union, and with- 
out complaining of it, in any particular, I may be permitted to 
say that the growing importance ofthe Country claimed against 
the United Stales and Maine, carries along an increasing desire 
to have an open or confidential developement of the material 
facts. 

The Report and Rpsolves contain the evidence ofthe present 
disposition and purposes of the State, which will receive my of- 
ficial co-operation with the same zeal and fidelity that will cheer- 
fully be applied, if requisite, in aiding to carry into effect any 
federal measure applicable to the protection of the rights in 
question. The anxiety ©fa sovereign State to possess the doc- 
uments, (or copies of them,) which contain the evidence of a ti- 
tle to soil and of a jurisdictional authority which it will, under 
the United States, maintain, if it shall discharge its duty either to 
those States or to itself, will be duly appreciated by yourself and 
by the President. 

While that anxiety is here entertained by all the Citizens, it is 
not only with reference to an important local concern, but is con- 
nected with their inclination to a harmonious action with all who 
consent to admit of it. In pursuance, therefore of the Resolve 
ofthe Legislature of Maine, I have the honor to solicit such in- 
formation, relative to the Northeastern boundary of that State, 
as the President may deem proper to consent to have communi- 
cated. It is also my duty to add, that great benefit will be de- 
rived from an early determination of a claim harassing to the 
State, interrupting its bests pursuits, threatening to some of it* 
best hopes, and believed to be unfounded. 

* See Resolves of Maine. — Page 572, 



&6 
NO. 15. 

Letter from the Secretary of State of the. United States, to the 
Governor of Maine. 

Washington, 11th March, 1827. 

Sir: I hnve to acknowledge the receipt of the Letter which 
your Excellency did me the honor to address to me on the 20th 
instant, with a Copy of the Report of the joint select Committee 
of the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of 
Maine, enclosed, hoth of which 1 have submitted to the Presi- 
dent. The deep interest, which is taken by the State of Maine 
in the settlement of our Northeastern Boundary with Great 
Britain, is very natural. And I assure you that it is a subject 
on which the President feels the most lively solicitude. Mr. 
Gallatin is charged with, and has actually entered on, a negotia- 
tion concerning it, but which was not brought to a close at the 
last dates from him, nor is it probably yet terminated. At that 
period, the prospect was, that there would be no other alternative 
than that of referring the difference between the two Governments 
to arbitration, according to the provisions of the Treaty of Gi.ent. 
Much difficulty was experienced even in adjusting certain pre- 
liminary points necessarily connected with the reference, and 
they havt not yet been finally arranged. 

When an application was made, during the session of Con- 
gress prior to the last, by the Senators of Maine, for copies of 
all the papers in this Department respecting the disputed boun- 
dary, it was not deemed expedient to furnish copies of the Re- 
ports and arguments of the Commissioners, the publication of 
which, it was believed, would be prejudicial. Copies of any 
surveys, maps, or documentary evidence, were offered. The 
same considerations, which then existed, are still believed to be 
opposed to letting copies go from this Department of those re- 
ports and arguments. With that exception, copies of any of the 
other papers returned by the Commissioners will be furnished 
whenever application is made for them. 

It is stated in the Report of the joint select committee that 
< We cannot view the acts complained of by the British Govern- 
ment as encroachments upon the rights of New Brunswick or 
Great Britain, for they relate and were only intended to relate to 
the territory within the description of the Treaty.' Although the 
President might he disposed entirely to coincide in this opinion, 
with the State of Maine, it must not he forgotten, that an oppo- 
site opinion is entertained by Great Britain, with whom we are 
now treating. If, whilst the controversy is unsettled, and during 



27 

the progress of a negotiation, each party proceeds to take posses- 
sion of what lie claims to belong to him, as both assert title to 
the same territory, an immediate collision is unavoidable. The 
British Government has abstained, according the assurances, 
given through their minister here, from the performance of any 
new acts which might be construed into an exercise of the rights 
of sovereignty or soil over the disputed territory ; and they so 
abstained on our representation, and at our instance. Under 
these circumstances, the President continues to think, that it is 
most advisable, that wc should practice the like forbearance, as 
recommended in the Letters, which I had the honor of address- 
ing to your Excellency, on the 4th January of the last, and the 
29th of January of the present year. This mutual forbearance, 
is believed to be essential to the harmony between the two 
Countries, and may have a favorable tendency in the amicable 
adjustment of the difference between them. 

It is worthy also of consideration, that, although Maine is 
most, she is not the only State, interested in the settlement of 
this question. 

Your Excellency may be perfectly persuaded, that every effort 
wiil be employed to obtain a satisfactory, and as speedy a deci- 
sion of this matter, as may be practicable ; and that not less at- 
tention will be paid to it, than has been shown on the part of the 
Executive of the United States in the adjustment of their boun- 
dary in another part of the Union to which you refer, whilst it 
is hoped that some unpleasant incidents, which occurred there, 
may be avoided in the Northeast. 

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of your Excellency, 
an extract from a despatch of Mr. Gallatin, under date the 30th 
October last. 



JVO. 16. 

Letter from the Governor of Maine, to the Secretary of State oj 
the United States. 

Portland, ISth April, 1827. 

Sir, — I had the honor to receive your letter, bearing date, 
March 27th, ult. to which it is my duty, as the only organ of 
communication of the people of Maine, at this time, and on this 
occasion, to reply. 

The rights to which my care will appear to you, to be now d' 



. 28 

vected, are not, as I trust, jeopardized ; but they are so interest- 
ing;, as to demand the sedulous attention of those functionaries 
of this State, who are placed in relations which enable them to 
represent, through you, to the President, the feelings and princi- 
ples requiring of Maine its special regard, and which may be re- 
spectfully offered to the Country and the Administration. 

Without bringing the subject to that test of deep and general 
anxiety, by which, in a certain contingency, it must be tried at 
last. I shall offer a frank and sincere reply. 

The extracts from Mr. Gallatin's communication, with which 
you favored me, being the foundation of some of your remarks, 
allow me to advert to a view of the subject, to which he informs 
you he was led by procedures of the Legislature of New-Bruns- 
wick. I now refer to what he has said as to propositions of 
compromise by Agents of Maine and Massachusetts, relating to 
the boundary line. The danger of inferences, under such cir- 
cumstances, from the ' proceedings of the Legislature of New- 
Brunswick,' is so evident that you will not be surprised by a de- 
nial of their correctness. 

Assenting to the idea that ' propositions on our part, incon- 
sistent with our construction of the treaty, and which would not 
secure to us all the waters which empty into the St. Johns, west 
of the line running north from the source of the St. Croix, would 
be dangerous,' and being also prepared to admit that Maine 
would be inconsistent and unjust to herself in making such pro- 
positions, I shall satisfy you that she has not been off her guard 
in the manner, which called forth your friendly intervention. — 
And first, allow me to assure you, that there is no occasion for 
alarm on the part of the Administration or its Minister in Eng- 
land, that Maine will jeopardize the common welfare, by failing 
to insist on the justice and indefeazible character of its claim, or 
by shrinking from a firm assertion in any alternative. 

The Agents whose supposed Acts ' would seem, from certain 
proceedings of the Legislature of New-Brunswick,' to have been 
as incautious as is represented, had no authority to propose any 
compromise as to our boundary, and if any was offered, it was 
officious and unwarrantable, but lam enabled to inform you that 
the affair has been misrepresented to Mr. Gallatin, and I should 
offer the proofs of the correctness of this assurance in detail, if I 
did not believe it improper to pursue the consideration ol inoffi- 
cial acts, and of statements ill-founded, or if otherwise, inconse- 
quential. Grateful, therefore, for the attention evinced by the- 
caution he has given, however unnecessary, we will receive it as 
the pledge of his vigilance and ability. 



In concluding, as to this point, let me fortify you against any 
apprehension that Maine will yield too much by declaring to you 
plainly, that it is not believed that either the treaty making or 
executive power of the United States extends to the cession or 
exchange of the territory of any State, without its consent ; and 
that for a stronger reason, no State can barter that domain in 
which the Union has also an interest, and that jurisdiction which 
the highest political duty requires it to exercise. Maine will, 
surely, 1 believe, so far maintain these principles, as to warrant 
a reliance against hfdiscreet and unconstitutional concessions and 
a confidence in the application of her means to the repulsion of 
aggression. 1 have full reliance upon her disposition and ability 
to render the President all the aid which can be desired against 
the unfounded and presumptuous claims made equally against her 
and the Union, to promote an object suggested and supported on- 
ly by an ambition and cupidity, which, although natural, is nev- 
ertheless on our part altogether objectionable If these views 
shall not satisfy the President, of the confidence to which Maine 
is entitled, as to the assertion and defence of her rights, 1 shall 
with pleasure offer those further proofs which 1 omit at present, 
only from the desire of engaging your indulgence for a few ad- 
ditional observations. 

It was with much regret, not unmingled with mortification, 
that I considered your denial of the use of the Reports and Ar- 
guments of the Commissioners under the treaty of Ghent. From 
the want of that information which it was hoped the United 
States would yield to a party having the same interests with them- 
selves, and only desirous to sustain them, it is assumed that there 
are reasons for your decision, through which that respect will be 
commanded, now from great deference, profferred in anticipation. 
Wishing to act in full coincidence with the views entertained by 
the federal administration, the State must be bound to believe in 
a mutual regard, and to endeavor to avoid any embarrassing ap- 
plications on her own part, but it may not be unsuitable for her 
to expect a degree of confidence in return. 

All that forbearance, which the occasion requires, will, as 1 
may safely assure you, be exhibited by this State. While her 
extensive and valuable tracts of wild land, which might otherwise 
soon be improved, remain unsettled : — while her progress in wealth 
and power is checked in a most disastrous manner, at the period 
most favorable to giving an impulse to her prosperity : — while 
many important resources are left dormant during the pendency 
of the dispute as to her property and jurisdiction : — while a fron- 
tier, which might soon be made strong, remains unfortified by the 



80 

freemen anxious to occupy it, she will, I doubt not, forbear on 
the request of the General Government, until the imperious call 
of duly shall summon her to occupy her inheritance. Seeking to 
promote, by all suitable concessions, the amicable adjustment 
you refer to, she will only withdraw her deference and submission, 
when a claim unjust in itself, may seem to expose a portion ol her 
territory to incorporation with a Province. — With this spirit of 
forbearance, she has sought information only as to an interest vital 
to herself, as well as important to the country, without any pur- 
pose calculated to excite distrust, with only s^uch patriotic views 
as have rendered the refusal to comply with her request, a sub- 
ject of that species of surprise, which a friend, predetermined to 
take no offence, feels when he is not treated with correspondent 
confidence. 

Maine, Sir, was with great difficulty introduced into the Union; 
but, if I recollect rightly, the arguments which were used, she was 
introduced as a sovereign and Independent State. 

As a free, sovereign, and independent republic, may we not be 
permitted to have communication with the Authorities of the 
Union, or do they mean that we shall submit implicitly to their 
direction, however wise it may be, at the same time that they de- 
clare their conviction of the propriety of withholding information ? 
The general concerns of the Union, are of course communicated 
only to the whole, but that which relates to a particular commu- 
nity, where its daily intercourse demands information, seems to 
warrant the request I have made, and which I am reluctantly im- 
pelled to renew, with this modification, that any communication, 
made in return, will be received, if so required, subject to a re- 
striction on publicity beyond a communication to the Legislature 
in the usual terms of confidential communications. If the Pres- 
ident will not consent to this, we must yield with the deference 
we owe to the station he holds, to the claims he has on our af- 
fections and confidence, to the information lie possesses, and the 
prudence he displays to any extent within which the absolute and 
indefeasible rights of Maine, may not be compromitted. Will 
you permit me to add that, as to all beyond that, this State may 
probably claim the right to use her moral and physical energies 
as she may be directed by the future emergencies ; and I am sure, 
if her good will shall impel her, with power enough to sustain her 
right to soil and jurisdiction, wherever she may probably claim 
them against any probable foreign and arrogant assumption ; es- 
pecially with the aid of the general government. 

1 do not wish to weary your patience by urging the particular 
arguments which might sustain my proposition. It is true, Sir. 



31 

that Maine is not the only Stale interested. The Union is inter- 
ested, and each State is severally interested in having a powerful 
community on our Northeastern Boundary, which may, like 
N'\v York, in the hist, he the pride and defence of the nation itl 
the next war. Whenever again there shall be a struggle be- 
tween the navies and armies of this Republic and Great Britain, 
the position of Maine will require activity, strength, and confi- 
dence. She will be exposed to a large portion of danger and 
suffering, and will be, I hope and believe, resolute to acquire the 
glory to which such exposure, with unimpaired means, will invite 
her. 

Politically peninsulated, with three foreign governments press- 
ing upon her borders, with tie high ambition inspired, and the 
high responsibility created by her destination, can it be believed 
that she will relinquish her resources, suffer her land marks to be 
removed, and yield to a most presumptuous arrogation of a for- 
eign power. 1 trust you will more highly appreciate her intel- 
ligence and spirit than to imagine that so degrading and perni- 
cious a surrender can be consented to by her. 

But, is she authorized even to consider this question, and to de- 
termine the extent of her municipal jurisdiction, and that of the 
territorial limits within which she will exercise it? If a man- 
date of the Executive of the United States, under an act of the 
treaty making power, is, upon principle, imperative, she ought 
to be silent and passive ; but if not, however confidently she 
may rely upon her safety, as guarded by wisdom and patriotism, 
she ought to announce her wishes and, her principles. 

While under treaties with Great Britain, the boundary in dis- 
pute has been settled, the difficulty has occurred only as to the 
application of the rule in those treaties contained, to the surface 
of the ground. The right, to the full extent of the first treaty 
is perfect. It was not created by that treaty, but its existence 
was prior to it, and no surrender could have then been made 
without the consent of the proprietor and the sovereign. No 
surrender was made, and there is not amoral or political, in oth- 
er words, a governmental force, sufficient to change the true, 
honest determination of the land-mark. And there is nothing 
but sophistry, and that ignoble spirit of compromise, which ex- 
ists not in this republic, which will consent to the obvious and 
monstrous falsehoods to which ambitious and artful pretentinos 
have led the enemies of Maine. 

In regard to the sentence which you have extracted from the 
report of the joint select committee, as it contains a sentiment 
approved by the Legislature, and acquiesced in by the people, I 



\ 



32 

shall trouble you with a brief comment in regard to it. It rests 
upon the idea before suggested that Maine, with Massachusetts, 
has a perfect title in the disputed territory, and that the former 
State, lias a vested, indefeazible jurisdictional control over it, 
the exercise of which it may irresponsibly apply. It is a pro- 
position which has been demonstrated by yourself so clearly, as 
to have commanded general respect, that the abstraction of the 
territory of the United States, cannot be made by the treaty 
making or executive power. Much more then must the domain 
of a State within its acknowledged limits be sacred, and much 
more and more is it evident, that neither department of the fed- 
eral government, nor all, can be the exclusive and final arbiter as 
to the ascertainment of a boundary already established in de- 
scription ; because, if one department, or all, have this power, 
they may ascertain the line falsely, indirectly cede our State, 
converting it into a British dependency, and thus by the argu- 
ments, I had the invaluable satisfaction of hearing applied in a- 
notber case, violate the constitution. If, therefore, the commit- 
tee have fallen into error, it has not been in the principle of their 
judgment as to the rights of this State abstractly considered ; 
but in their view of the extent of our territory and of the ap- 
plication of our authority over it. They in fact substantially 
assert that the treaty of 1783, in connexion with original grants, 
and subsequent and correlative circumstances, established and 
defined our bounds, so as to preclude just complaint of our pub- 
lic acts within the scope of those legitimate powers, which at the 
discretion of the State, it may, within those bounds, any where 
apply. The doctrine of the committee can only be refuted by 
proving that the national authority is exclusive as to the adjust- 
ment of our exterior boundary; but let it be recollected that the 
present case only admits the ascertainment of a line by a rule 
prescribed, and not the creation of one arbitrarily, or in other 
words, by arbitrament. A right was vested in a third party be- 
fore the Union existed, and has been confirmed by it since. In 
short, the committee, it is believed, may be considered as claim- 
ing such respect as may be attached to those who have truly ex- 
hibited the sentiments of this community. 

Anxious, as in my situation, I cannot avoid being, for the 
preservation, during my continuance in office and always after, 
of the rights of the State, I must express my alarm at a portion 
of Mr. Gallatin's letter. He says, 'an umpire, whether a King 
or farmer, rarely decides on strict principles of law ; — he has 
alvays a bias to try if possible to ^|dit the difference, 5 &c. ; and 
yet 1 am informed that there has been in progress an arrange- 



ment of the preliminary points, for constituting such an umpire, 
I cannot but hope that no arrangement will be effected, which 
will endanger the half from the mere circumstance of a wrong- 
ful claim to the whole, under the pitiful weakness winch is liable 
to split the difference between right and wrong. 

Let me add, in this particular part of my letter, most respect- 
fully, but solemnly, the sentiment, that Maine is bound to claim 
at the hands of the federal government, the protection of the 
integrity of her territory, the defence of her sovereignty, and 
the guardianship of her State rights. She is called upon to urge 
this that she may be rather permitted to rest on the parental care 
of the Union than driven to any independent agency, in any 
form, in relation to this concern. 

That you may not be surprised that the State, after having 
fruitlessly sought information should have determined on its 
course without it, give me leave to say that while she cannot be 
presumed to be informed in all particulars, as to the relations of 
a deeply interesting character in which she is placed, she is cal- 
led upon to judge as to others, and is not without the premises 
necessary to correct conclusions. 

Whatever intelligence she might have been permitted to re- 
ceive as to her relative situation, she would, as she will hereafter, 
cheerfully co-operate with the general government to prevent 
an assumption of our territory, to whatever extent, by the King 
of Great Britain. 

In executing the Resolve of the Legislature it will be conven- 
ient to me to possess a schedule of those documents which may 
be communicated. I will, therefore, hope the favor of being 
furnished with such an index for the direction of my inquiries. 



NO. 17. 

Letter from the Secretary of State of the United States, to 
the Governor of Maine. 

Washington, 7th May, 1827. 
Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
Excellency's letter of the 18th ultimo, and to inform you that I 
have submitted it to the President. The solicitude which is felt 
by your Excellency and the Legislature of Maine, in regard to 
the settlement of our North eastern boundary, so interesting to 
that State, and so important to the whole Union, is perfectly 
i 



34 

natural, and justly appreciated by the President. And he is entirely 
disposed to communicate any information in the possession of the 
Executive of the United States on that subject, which can, in his 
opinion, be communicated without the danger of public detri- 
ment. Accordingly, when, at the session of Congress before 
the last, an application was made at this Department, by the 
Senators from Maine, for copies of all the papers, maps, and oth- 
er documents reported by the Commissioners, who were ap- 
pointed under the fifth article of the Treaty of Ghent, it was sta- 
ted to those gentlemen, that the copies would be furnished 
whenever requested, with the exception of the reports and argu- 
ments of the Commissioners, transcripts from which, consider- 
ing their peculiar character, in the then state of the question, 
the President did not think it expedient to allow to be taken. 
The Senators from Maine availed themselves of the permission, 
and obtained copies of some of the maps. Copies of all the pa- 
pers reported by the Commissioners, which are very voluminous, 
would require the services of two or three copyists for many 
weeks ; but the labor of preparing them would be cheerfully en- 
countered for the accommodation of the State of Maine. 

The negotiation with Great Britain is still pending, but there 
is reason to expect that it will soon be brought to some conclu- 
sion ; perhaps in a shorter time than would be requisite to co- 
py and transmit the papers reported by the Commissioners, to 
your Excellency. The President continues to think, that the 
public interest requires, that the communication of transcripts of 
the reports and arguments of the Commissioners, even under the 
limitation proposed by your Excellency, should be postponed 
for the present, and until it can be made without the risk of any 
injurious effect upon the stale of the negotiation. Your Excel- 
lency's experience in public affairs, will enable you to make a 
just estimate of the reserve and delicacy which ought to be ob- 
served in all negotiations with foreign powers, involving sub- 
jects of deep national interest. This consideration has such 
weight, that it is the uniform practice of Congress, as no one 
knows better than your Excellency, to annex a qualification to 
the calls which are from time to time made, for papers relating 
to the Foreign negotiations of the Government. There would 
not be the smallest objection to an exhibition to the inspection 
of your Excellency, or confidentially, to any person that you 
might think proper to designate, of all the papers, without ex- 
ception, reported by the Commissioners. 1 abstain from a par- 
ticular notice of many of the topics of your Excellency's letter, 
not from the least want of respect, (on the contrary I entertain 



36 

the highest, personally and officially,) for your Excellency, but 
from a persuasion that the discussion of them is without utility. 
It has been thought most profitable to limit my answer to the 
specific requests contained in your letter. 

I transmit, herewith, in conformity with your wish, a list of the 
papers reported by the Commissioners, copies of any of which 
may be procured, for the use of the State of Maine, whenever 
desired, with the exception which has been stated. 



IVO. 18, 

A List of Books, papers, &c. relative to the 5th Article 
of the Treaty of Ghent. 

BOOKS. 

Vol. I. Journal of Commission. 

Vol. II. Claims of Agents. 

Contains, Claim of the agent of the United States. 

First, memorial concerning the Northwest angle of 
Nova Scotia, and the Northwesternmost head of Con- 
necticut River, he. 

By fhe agent of H. B. Majesty. 
Second, Memorial concerning same. By same. 

Vol. III. Answers of Agents. 

Contains, A reply to the Memorial of the Agent of the United 
States, filed 8th June, 1821, exhibiting thelineofthe 
boundary of the United States from the source of the 
River St. Croix, to the Iroquios or Cataraguy. 
Answer of the Agent United States to the claim and 
opening argument of the Agent ofH. B. Majesty. 
Read, August 10th, 1821. 

Vol. IV. Replies of the Agents. 

Contains, The Reply of the Agent of the United States to the 
answers of the Agent of H. B. Majesty to the claim 
and opening argument of the Agent of the United 
States, he. Read, Sept. 27th, 1821. 

Observations upon the answers of the Agent of the 
United States, to the Claim and opening argument 
of the Agent of H. B. Majesty, he. 

By the Agent of H. B. Majesty. 



36 

Vol. V. General Appendix. 

Contains, Reports of the Surveyors and Astronomers, and 
Documents referred to, in the Arguments of the 
Agents. 

Appendix to British Agent's Reply. 
(Duplicate) Report of Commissioner C. P. Van 
Ness. 

Report of the Commissioner of H. B. Majesty, 
addressed to the Government of the United States. 
Appendix to the Report of H. B. Majesty's Com- 
missioners. 



NO. 19. 
INDEX. 

Numbers rej erred to in Numbers referred in thr 

the U. S- arguments. British arguments. 

1. Mr. Johnson's survey of the Line North from the St. ) 
Croix in 1817. > 1 

2. Col. Bouchett's survey of the same Line, 1817. 2 

3. Mr. Johnson's farther survey of the North Line and > 
adjacent Country in 1818. $ 

4. Mr. Odell's further survey of the North Line. H. 

5. Capt. Partridge's section of the country from Point 
Levi, to Hallowel, Maine, 1819, of the different Heights 
through the Grand Portage of Matawasca on St. John 
Rivers, of Mar's Hill. 

6. Surrey of the Restook section of the same, and of) 
M«r's Hill. $ 

7. Mr. Odell's survey of the Restook with a sketch oH 
the aeuntry as viewed from Mar's Hill and the vicinity > G. 
of the Houlton Plantatian. ) 

8. Mr. Hunter's survey of the Allaguash River. G 

9. " » " of the Penobscot, First Part. 7 

10. •• » " of the Penobscot, Second Part. 8 

11. Mr. Burnham's survey of the Branches of Connecti- ) r> 
cut River. > 

12. Doc. Tiark's survey of Connecticut River and its) » 
Tributary streams. ) 

13. Mr. Burnham's survey of Msmkeswee, Green Riv- } ^ 
«rs and Beaver stream. £ 



87 

14. Mr. Burnham's survey of Toladie River rind Grand) „ 
Portage. ) 

15. Doc. Tiark's survey of Toladie and Green Rivers. 11 

16. Mr. Loring's survey of Penobscot River. 12 

17. " " ' " of Moose River 13 

18. Mr. Campbell's sketch of the Height of Land annex- 
ed to Mr. Oilcll's Report of the survey of 1819. 

19. Mr. Hunter's survey of the River St. John. 14 

20. Mr. Loss 1 servey of the River St. John. 15 

21. Mr. Partridge's survey of the Chaudiere, the source of ) 
the Dead River, and the East Branch of the Connecticut. ) 

22. Mr. Carlile's survey of the Head waters of the Chan- > _ 
diere and Kennebec Rivers. ) 

23. Mr. Burnham's survey of the River Quelle and of the > « 
source of Black River. ) 

24. Mr. Carlile's survey of the Rivers. 19 

25. Mr. Burnham's survey of the sources of the Metjar- ") 
mette, Penobscot and St. John Rivers. £ 

26. Mr. Carlile's survey of the same source. 21 

27. Col. Bouchett's Barometrical section of the Line ") 
North from the St Croix. ) 

28. Extract from Carrigan's Map of New Hampshire. C. 

" from Mitchel's Map of Connecticut River. D. 

Col. Bouchett's concerning the Parallel line. E. 

29. Extract from Mitchell's Map as first filed by the Brit- } 
ish Agent. ^ 

30. Plan of the former survey of the Latitude of Forty five > 
degrees North, in 1774. 5 

Additional. 
Map of the Country explored in the years 1817, 1818, 1819, 
and 1820, by order of the Commissioners under the 5th Article 
of the Treaty of Ghent. 

Maps referred to in the British Agent's Reply. 

A. Map of Connecticut River hy Doctor Tiarks. 

B. Streams Tributary to Connecticut River by Mr. Burnham. 

C. Extract from Carrigan's Map of New Hampshire. 

D. Extracts from Mitchell's Map shewing the heads of, 

Connecticut River. 

E. Col. Bouchett's plan shewing the different lines consid- 

ered as the parallel of 45° North. 

F. Mr. Campbell's sketch of the height of land annexed \ 

to Mr. Odell's Report of the survey of 1819. ^ 



88 

G. Mr. Odell's plan of the survey of the Restook, with a) 
sketch of the Country as viewed, Hill and the vicinity > 
ofHouitooi ) 

H. Extract from Mr. Odell's j)lan of the due North line ex- > 
plored in 1 Si 8. £ 

I. General extract from Mitchell's map. 
K. Corrected Copvofsame Extract. 

Filed August 14, 1821. 
(signed) S. HALE. Secretary 

Title of the British. 
This Atlas (containing the Copies of Maps and parts of Maps 
and plains with the exception of the last Mitchell's map which 
was filed as thereon stated) accompanied the answering argument 
of the Agent of H. B. Majesty filed on the 14th of August last. 



NO. 20. 

Letter from the Governor of Maine, to the President of the Uni- 
ted States. 

Portland, May 19, 1727, 

Sjh : The situation in which this State is placed, in consequence 
of the unexecuted provision of the Treaty of Ghent relative to its 
Northeastern boundary imposes upon me a duty which I am not 
permitted to compromise by my feelings of respect for yourself, 
and the high authority with which you are invested. However 
discouraging may have been the correspondence I have had with 
the Secretary of State, I cannot decline a course deliberately 
determined upon, or admit the belief, that a representation rela- 
ting to the welfare of Maine can be unwelcome. It is not the 
comparatively light concern of a passing favor, or the import of 
a transient measure that I am about to urge ; but it is that of ma- 
kin* a memorial for consideration and record as to the demesne 
and jurisdiction of this member of the Union. 

Obliged to depend principally for information upon rumor, the te- 
nacity of knowledge, which is power, has not, however, concealed 
the fact that the British Government has made a claim embracing 
a large tract of country adjacent to the Province of New-Bruns- 
wick. Information from various sources cannot fail to have pro- 
duced on your mind a just impression of the importance commu- 
nicated to that territory in reference to value and jurisdiction, by 
its qualities of soil, its variety of native productions, its streams 



89 

its situation, and all those properties calculated to render it not 
only a strong interior barrier to invasion, but fruitful of the means 
ot prosperity to our maritime frontier. The State of Maine claims 
the propriety in an undivided moiety, and the entire jurisdiction, 
as far as consistent with the paramount power of the United 
States, in relation to that extensive tract. Having learned that 
the title thereto is involved in the details of a diplomatic arrange- 
ment conducted under the sanction of the executive department 
of the federal government, Maine, although not consulted, yet 
bound from deference, to pay a due respect to reasons, the nature 
and force of which she is, from a studious and mysterious reserve 
rendered unable to comprehend, believes she ought to present 
her expostulations in regard to any measures threatening her with 
injury. 

The Secretary of State has informed me that the disputed 
claims to land along our Northeastern boundary are to be sub- 
mitted to arbitration. By arbitration I understand a submission 
to some foreign Sovereign or State, who will decide at pleasure 
on the whole subject, who will be under no absolute obligations 
or effectual restraint by virtue of the Treaty of 1783, whose con- 
science will not be bound to impartiality and justice by the sol- 
emn sanction of an oath, and whose feelings may naturally be bi- 
assed against a Republic accused of inordinate ambition, and in 
whose peace and prosperity there is an interesting lesson and 
example for nations. 

The treaty making power of the United States on one side, 
and his Britannic Majesty on the other, engage to consider the 
decision of the Arbitrator final and conclusive. Let mo sav that 
to a surrender of Territory, involved as a possibility, it will, I 
trust, be made evident that there is another party, not to be an 
indifferent spectator of its own delaceration. The mind in con- 
templating our prospects is carried to the Courts of Europe, and 
led to scan the tribunals to which you may refer this subject.— r 
It would be unsuitable for me to comment on the dispositions or 
talents of foreign Soverigns or States, but it is not in cold blood 
that I can anticipate the committing the destinies of Maine to an 
irresponsible arbiter to be found in a distant land and necessarily 
unqualified to act in the case. The character of this arbiters hip has 
been portentiously exhibited by Mr. Gallatin in that letter, m 
which on the authority of intelligence from New-Brunswick, he 
most erroneously ascribed an interposition by the Agents of Mas- 
sachusetts and Maine as to a compromise of our boundary. Suffice 
it to say that the proposed arbitration will jeopardize, without her 
consent and against her will, the rights of Maine ; and allow me 






40 



to add, that if called upon to make the required sacrifice, she 

will he compelled to deliberate on an alternative, which will test 
the strictness of her principles, and the firmness of her temper. 

The acknowledgement of the mother country and the exer- 
cise of the inherent power of the people, formed Massachusetts 
into a body politic, originally independent of the present Union 
and of every foreign government. All the territorial and juris- 
dictional rights which she could acquire were absolutely her own 
and remain so to this day, excepting so far as she has granted 
them to the United States or to Maine. The Treaty of 1783, 
containing the acknowledgment of her emancipation, and exal- 
tation to self-government, was not with the States, exclusively as 
a federal body, but partially at least as independent communities, 
that is to say, if in some points of view they appeared as forming 
a national, in other, they were regarded as being an allied asso- 
ciation. Hence the acknowledgment of independence applied 
distinctly to each State, as did also the relinquishment by the 
King of Great Britain of ' the' propriety and territorial rights of 
the same and every part thereof.' It is necessary to notice, that 
at the period of the negotiation of the Treaty of Peace, the 
confederation to a slight extent and in reference to a few objects 
drew the States into concert and gave them a unity of character ; 
but the most superficial examination shows that the confederacy 
had not a common interest in territory or territorial rights, and 
that the recognition of these bore upon the ancient colonies on- 
ly as they held under their charters, or as the fruits of their wis- 
dom and valor, in fee simple and absolute sovereignty. 

When by the ratification of the Conventions of the States, 
Massachusetts surrendered to a superintending agency a portion 
of her power, she yielded no right to dispose of her soil, or to 
abstract any part of it from her jurisdiction. She imparted no 
authority to enter into new engagements, or, what may be equiv- 
alent, to modify the means of enforcing an existing provision of 
an original compact made in part with herself, nor to expose 
without her own consent or that of her successor and representa- 
tive to the fate of foreign arbitrament, her dearly purchased and 
sacred rights. On the contrary, Maine, now standing in the 
place of her parent republic, may deem the fifth article of the 
Treaty of Ghent, as having led to a course endangering her 
rights,and rendered more painful and alarming by her exclusion 
from a proper intercommunication and legitimate consideration 

as a party in the case. 

Whatever character appertained to the confederation or to those 

who entered into that holy league, it is manifest that the States 



41 

were not identified and confounded with the Union in relation to 
the question here presented, under the original treaty of pence 
and limits. I must, therefore, respectfully urge that how- 
ever the policy and principles of the executive department 
of the federal government may dictate the imposition upon 
Maine of silence and forbearance, and however plainly 
may be indicated the disposition to treat the subject as if 
merely national, she will not observe any procedure by the 
United States and Great Britain for the severance of her territory 
and the abrogation of her authority, without a sensibility too se- 
rious to be passive. She holds that her domain is not the sub- 
ject of Partition. 

I pause to render more obvious the relevancy of these re- 
marks. Of two principles on which it depends, it may be suffi- 
cient to state but one. The power of subjecting to arbitration 
with an absolute right in the arbiter to form and establish a ter- 
ritorial limit is equivalent to the power of ceding territory — 
The arbiter is the legal substitute and mutual agent of the par- 
ties, in this case assumed to be the United States and Great Brit- 
ain, his acts are their acts and there is a positive pledge to an 
unconditional obedience to his behest. It is the delegation of 
the Sovereignty of a despot. The effect may be the cession of 
all Maine or of only a part, but if of any, the government ot the 
United States will participate by an unauthorized submission, in 
the injustice of the umpire. 

It is not controverted that the control of our foreign relations 
belongs to the United States as to objects which have arisen un- 
der the Constitution or existing laws ; but in regard to rights ac- 
quired by an independent party and interests in property vested 
by acts anterior to the existence of that compact, the interposition 
by the federal executive without an express grant of power seems 
to be gratuitous. No statesman will assert, that the treaty mak- 
ing power is competent to an act transcending the scope of the 
combined trusts of the government. 

I adv rt to principles, familiar to your mind, because it is my 
duty to present the opinions here entertained. What then is the 
authority, or agency which it may be assumed, would produce 
no remonstrances from the State the most deeply concerned ? 
Not surely that which admits of what is termed by Mr. Gallatin, 
splitting the difference, nor of conceding property, which does 
not belong to the United States, nor curtailing a jurisdiction 
above their rightful controul. Whatever may be urged to the 
contrary, it is confidently asserted not only that the provision of 
the treaty of 1783 is imperative, but that it describes our boun- 
f 



4i> 

dary with a precision which shames the British claim, and, con* 
nected with the making of that claim, casts a shade over the lus- 
tre of the British character. By negations we may sometimes 
arrive at an affirmative. I say then that the boundary on the 
surface of the earth, does not rest along - the Penobscot, which 
the British, then perhaps contemplating that vast empire, they 
anticipated in North America, insidiously and surreptitiously 
seized during- the late war. That boundary cannot be establish- 
ed there. It does not rest where the British minister has pre- 
sumed to place it. The making the claim does not determine 
its justice, nor the obstinacy of persisting in it create with this 
powerful nation the necessity of a concession, which will as sure- 
ly be followed by a more enormous one, as it is certain that the 
Roman Empire was ignominiously subjugated through the base 
spirit of submission to incipient wrong. Enough has been said 
to meet the obvious and natural enquiry, what is expected of the 
government, or may I not say what is demanded of it. — It knows 
the demerit of the British claim ; it is conscious of the rights of 
Maine ; and hereafter it cannot be said that her views have not 
been exhibited. She might therefore be forever justified in the 
exercise of her jurisdiction and sovereign State rights over the 
disputed ground. Her faith is not pledged, nor is that of the 
Union to permit any reduction of her actual territory, and there 
is no artifice of construction or force of authority to break off 
that great component part of her domain now assailed, and to 
bind her judgment to acquiescence. The cession would be nu- 
gatory, and if, for a time, she should be compelled to submit to 
it, the abeyance produced by power will not preclude the right 
of resumption which justice may at some period award. 

It has been urged that this concern is so exclusively national 
that Maine is obtrusive in presenting her views to the con- 
sideration of the executive. It is, nevertheless, believed that she 
is under high obligations vigilently to supervise her interests, 
freely to assert her rights, and not to yield readily to the dis- 
couraging but perfectly natural inclination to see in her conduct 
the humblest deference and an entire unquestioning, improvident 
obedience. She commits no intentional error and communes 
with the frankness which belongs to her independence, her char- 
acter, and her station with her sister Republics and with the 
Union. — In doing so she evinces her respect for their integrity, 
intelligence, and patriotism, and she avoids by a prudent forecast 
that danger of collision bred from present distrust and that quer- 
ulous and exasperated temper usually exhibited when the evils 
of measures are experienced and when eauses are appreciated by 
their effects. 



4& 

Repeating to you the expression of my regret that you have 
been pleased to refuse that information contemplated by a res- 
olution of the State, I shall nevertheless continue to hope for 
the preservation, under the protecting care of government, of 
that now exposed territory, destined under any proprietor to be 
soon occupied by a numerous population engaged in all the pur- 
suits which sustain human life and adorn human nature. 



XO. 21. 

Letter from the Governor of Maine, to the Secretary of State of 
the United States. 

Portland, 29th April, 1827. 

Sir: I am induced by considerations which 1 deem important, 
to avail myself of your obliging offer, to obtain copies of all the 
papers in your office, relative to the boundary between this State 
and New Brunswick, which the President may permit to be trans- 
mitted. This request applies to maps, with the exception of the 
map already furnished of the Country explored in the years 1817, 
1818, 1819, and 1820, by order of the Commissioners under the 
fifth article of the Treaty of Ghent, by Hiram Burnham, U. S. 
Surveyor. 

I have the honor also to solicit transcripts of the arguments of 
Mr. Chipman and Mr. Sullivan, as Agents under the Commission 
for determining the true St. Croix ; and of the arguments of Mr. 
Austin and Mr. Chipman, under the fourth article of the Treaty 
of Ghent, together with the report of the Commissioners in both 
cases. 

Excuse me for adverting to the punctilio of expense, which I 
shall wish to see liquidated. 

lhave made a communication to the President on the subject 
of our Northeastern Boundary, which you will perceive from its 
nature was necessarily directed immediately to him. 



NO. 22. 

JLetterfrom the Secretary of State of the United States, to the Gov- 
ernor of Maine. 

Washington, 9th June, 1827. 
Sir : The President has received the letter which your Ex. 
cellency addressed to him, under date the 29th ultimo ij and l 



44 

am charged by him to convey lo you bis assurances that your ob- 
servations on the interesting subject of our Northeastern boun- 
da< v shall receive attentive and respectful consideration. I beg 
leave to add that in no contingency is any arbitration of the dif- 
ference between the United States and Great Britain, relative to 
that boundary, contemplated, but that for which provision has 
been solemnly made by treaty. It would afford great satisfaction 
to the President, if a resort to that alternative for quieting the dis- 
pute could be avoided, by obtaining lrom Great Britain an ex- 
plicit acknowledgment of the territorial claims of Maine, in their 
whole extent. Candor, however compels rne to state, that the 
prospects of such an acknowledgment, at the present time, are 
not encouraging. 



NO 23. 

Letter from Daniel Brent, Esq. of the Department of State of the 
United States, to the Gevernor of Maine. 

Washington, June 15, 1827. 

Sir : I was directed by the Secretary, before his departure 
from this City, a few days ago, on a visit to Kentucky, to have 
copies prepared of the Books &c. &c requested in your Letter 
to him of the 29th of May, and to transmit them to your Excel- 
lency, with all possible dispatch ; and I have just collected to- 
gether the manuscript Books containing the arguments of Mr. 
Chipman and Mr. Sullivan, agents under the commission for de- 
termining the true St. Croix, and those containing the arguments 
of Mr. Austin and Mr. Chipman, Agents under the 4th Article 
of the Treaty of Ghent, together with the Reports of the Com- 
missioners in both cases, fourteen in number, and averaging, each 
about two hundred and fifty pages of close writing on foolscap 
paper ; transcripts of these being particularly noticed by you as 
wanting. Added to those, the arguments, Reports and Papers, 
including the Maps, under the 5th article of the Treaty of Ghent, 
which come, it would seem to me, within the scope of your re- 
quest, embrace a mass of writing nearly as voluminous as that of 
these Books. I take the liberty under these circumstances, of 
troubling your Excellency with this communication, to apprize 
you of the extent of the transcripts which appear to be thus re- 
quired, and of the delay which must, of consequence, attend the 
execution of your Excellency's commission, as it is, at present, 
understood by me. 

1 beg leave, however, to state that the subject is involved in 



45 

so much obscurity from the prolix and complicated arguments, 
reports and replies o( the several Commissioners, agents, astron- 
omers and Surveyors, that I do not like to venture upon making 
a selection for the copyists, though 1 feel fully persuaded that 
this might be advantageously done, to the great abridgement of 
their work, and to the expediting of the fulfilment of your wish. 
The Senators from your State, Messrs. Holmes and Chandler, 
have seen the Books, and, as well 1 recollect, were furnished 
with copious extracts from them; and perhaps, they might fa- 
vor t )is Department, through your Excellency, with some sug- 
gestion leading to a convenient curtailment, which should, 
nevertheless, be entirely compatible with your Excellency's ob- 
ject, in reference to the copies required by you. 



NO. 24. 

Letter from the Governor of Maine to Daniel Brent, Esq. of the 
Department of State, oj the United States. 

Portland, July 14, 1827. 
Sir : I had the honor to receive your letter, referring me to 
the Hon. Messrs. Holmes and Chandler, as to reducing the 
amount of the draught I had made on the proffered kindness of the 
Secretary of State. I have availed myself of all possible benefit 
from your suggestion ; but am still disposed to accept, without 
reservation, the favor he so politely tendered, which is done with 
the greater sense of obligation, because that favor cannot embrace 
the principal objects first contemplated, and is therefore render- 
ed more valuable as to the residue. It is also believed that 
Maine ought not to lose the opportunity of placing among her 
archives all those documents which she can obtain relating to a 
concern so important as that of a third of her territory. 

Extract of a letter from the Governor of Massachusetts to the Gov- 
ernor oj Maine, dated, Executive Department of Massachusetts, 

Boston, July 2d, 1S27. 
'I beg also to avail myself of this opportunity to acknowledge 
the receipt of several interesting communications from your Ex- 
cellency in reference to the Northeastern boundary, which will 
receive the most respectful and faithful consideration. My own 
opinion of the importance of the general views which you have 
in detail, and with great force, presented, on this subject, has 
been heretofore expressed in official communications to the Le- 
gislature of this Commonwealth, and in a correspondence had 
with the Department of State of the United States. 



46 
i\G. 25. 

•Letter from the Governor of Maine to the Secretary of State of 
the United States. 

Portland, September 3d. 1827. 
Sir: Since I liad the honor of addressing you on t.e subject 
of the Northeastern boundary of this State, facts have been 
placed within my knowledge which more imperatively than any 
other, urge me to solicit the attention of ihe President to the sit- 
uation in which we are placed. It is now rendered evident that 
the representation made to you and communicated in your let- 
ter of the 27th of March last, that the British government has 
abstamed from the performance of any new acts which might be 
construed into an exercise of the rights of sovereignty or soil over 
the disputed territory, was entirely incorrect. That representa- 
tion, connected with the recommendation by the President, has 
undoubtedly had murh influence with Maine in producing a for- 
bearence, which will probably be objected against her, in com- 
parison with the opposite course by Great Britain, as containing 
an implied acknowledgment of ihe rightfulness of the jurisdiction 
which has been exercised for years, by a foreign Power in the 
manner and to an extent which 1 beg leave now to exhibit, as pre- 
sented to mc by credible testimony Along the St. Johns river 
following it up westwardly from the junction of the Matawascah, 
is a very flourishing settlement containing a considerable number 
of peaceably disposed and industrious inhabitants. Among 
these is a proportion of American emigrants, some of whom hold 
their land under de< ds from Massachusetts and Maine, and the 
others, or nearly all of thera are anxious to obtain titles in the 
same way. The latter at present occupy as tenants at sufferance, 
and neither recognize the binds as being Crown lands, nor do 
they voluntarily submit to British authority. These persons, the 
government of New Brunswick treats in all respects as aliens, 
denies their right to hold real estate, assesses upon ihem the al- 
ien tax, and refuses to permit to them the transmission of their 
produce as American. I forbear to speak of many acts of vio- 
lence and petty vexation of which they also complain. The 
other inhabitants are uniformly treated as British subjects, and 
new acts of jurisdiction even to requirement of military duty are 
as frequently exercised as the ordinary operations of a municipal 
control require. Before expressing to you the sentiments 
which should be connected with the exhibition of these facts, allow 
me to ask your attention to the sacrifice to which Maine is sub- 
mitting while her formidable adversary is thus industriously for- 



47 

iifying his positions. She owns, as it is believed as clearly as she 
owns any other portion of property, a tract not less than six mil- 
lions of acres, which with the exception of about a Million and an 
half situated northeastward of the St. John and Matawascuh is 
generally valuable for soil and timber, so that the latter along one 
river has been estimated to be worth .$180,000 00. which is only 
equal to an average of $150 00 per square mile. The useo th se 
vast resources is forbidden to her by the circumstance, ihat a 
claim is made upon it by a foreign power and by the respect she 
entertains for the President's reccommendation of a mutual for- 
bearance ; yet that Power is in the mean time applying its juris- 
diction in the same manner as if the representations of its minis- 
ter created no pledge and no obligation's to sustain their correct- 
ness. Whde it is natural that the same power should seek to 
render the Province of New Brunswick wealthy and powerful, 
by the prize it hopes to win, it might have been expected that 
there should be no repugnance between its acts and declarations. 
The case which will be presented, must, as you perceive, neces- 
sarily require of Maine, a consideration of the duties she owes to 
her citizens, not left in the condition of neutral subjects without 
government, as has been supposed, but actually subjugated. 

To allow our lands to remain uncultivated, and our public im- 
provements to be postponed through a State necessity, is a sac- 
rifice capable of being endured, compared with that of seeing 
dominion usurped over those who owe us allegiance, and to whom 
protection is due. It has been the doctrine of the Government, 
and of a great portion of the people of the United States, at 
times when Great Britain was heretofore prosecuting claims 
against this country, more extensive, but not less unjust than the 
present, that an injury to a single citizen inflicted a wound upon 
the body politic, and that an evil inflicted upon a part, demanded 
the making a common cause for its remedy. 

In such a sentiment, believed to be now as fully as ever enter- 
tained, I find my apology for this renewed appeal for protection 
of the interests of Maine against the reduction of its territory and 
the oppression of its citizens throng]) foreign interposition. 

Availing myself of the present opportunity to offer the Presi- 
dent a further view fcf this subject, which I omitted purposely 
on former occasions, it is flattering to be able to bring in aid the 
analogy of the opinions understood by the nation to have been 
uniformly entertained by our statesmen and jurists in the case of 
the Mississippi. It being assumed that the protection solicited 
will be yielded, and that the property demanded cannot be sur- 
rendered in any form, or under any mode of procedure, except 
as superior force may compel submission to a cession of State 



48 

territory, it is natural to advert to the value oi' the property at 
stake. That value is so enhanced as to place it beyond calcula- 
tion when we apply the doctrine applied to the navigation of the 
Mississippi, that the ownership of the head waters of rivers gives 
the right of free navigation to their sources. The doctrine sub- 
ject to some modification of a political and fiscal character, has 
the same application under the laws of nature and nations, in ref- 
erence to our right of navigation through the St. John, as this na- 
tion always demanded for it in connection with the great ques- 
tion with Spain, which called it into view. Let me in'reat you, 
then, to look at once to the exciting cause of the cupidity of Great 
Britain, and the anxkty of Maine as to tins profligate claim. The 
materials for ship building on the disputed territory, may he cal- 
led inexhaustible, and the soil is so fertile, that the Matawascah 
settlement exports many thousand bushels of grain. The towns 
near the Bay ofFundy, both on the Scoodic and St. John, un- 
der the exclusive policy of Great Britain, derive immense annu- 
al profits from ship building, and they look with an unholy in- 
terest and intent on the extensive forests of Maine. If the mer- 
its of the case admitted more measured terms, I should use them. 
But believing that all posterity would reprobate the weakness of 
yielding what is once so rightfully ours, and so important, I use 
the freedom which the occasion demands. Beyond what I have 
urged, let me add, that there will be, ifyou shall defeat the claim 
upon our territory ; a facility of artificial water communication 
which, regarding its extent is unparalleled in the geography of this 
country, it will embrace all the waters of the St. John, Penob- 
scot, Kennebec, and St. Lawrence. 

If the Genera! Government will employ an Agent of this State, 
it will, I am sure, be responsible lor proving to him the correctness 
of all 1 have stated, to his entire satifaction, and in the most au- 
thentic forms. 

I cannot close without assuring you of my confirmed belief, 
that Maine will never assent to the result of an arbitration unfa- 
vorable toher intere-ts in the great concern in reference to which 
my duty has compelled me to trouble you with my repeated com- 
munications. 



NO. 26. 

Letter from the Secretary of State of the United States, to the Gov- 
ernor of Maine* 

Washington, )4th Sept. 1827. 
Sir : I have received the Letter which your Excellency did 



49 

me the honor to address to me on the third instant, and I have 
lost no time in transmitting a cop} 7 of it to the President of the 
United States, who will no doubt give to it the most respectful 
and deliberate examination. In the mean time I have also trans- 
mitted an extract from it to the British Minister, accompanied by 
the expression that the necessary orders will be given, on the 
part of the British Government, to enforce that mutual forbear- 
ance from any new acts tending to strengthen the claims of ei- 
ther party to the disputed territory, which it has been understood 
in the correspondence between Mr. Vaughan and myself, would 
be observed on both sides. 



NO. 27. 

Letter from the Governor of Maine, to the Lieutenant Governor 
of New Brunswick. 

Portland, Oct. 22, 1827. 

Sir : It has been represented to me, as Governor of the State 
of Maine, that one of its citizens, of the name of John Baker, 
while residing on its territory, has been arrested and is detained 
in gaol at Fredericton. A circumstance so interesting to the 
peace and character of the State and Country compels me to so- 
licit information which I do with the respect and amicable dispo- 
sition due authorities of a neighboring government. It is hop- 
ed that you will be pleased to communicate all the facts in the 
case, and that the result will be to allay the anxiety produced by 
the impression that the privileges of an American Citizen and the 
jurisdiction of a sovereign power has been invaded. Maine has 
not only a wish to be amicably connected with New Brunswick, 
but her interests impel her to seek a friendly intercommunication ; 
yet you must be aware that honor and justice demand of her the 
utmost respect and devotion on her part to the rights of every 
citizen. 

The attempt to extend the jurisdiction of New Brunswick over 
the disputed territory will compel counteraction from Maine. — 
The result must be productive of so much evil that it is not deem- 
ed indelicate or disrespectful to advert to it. The arrest of our 
citizens on what we believe to be a part of our State will demand 
its utmost energies for resistance. 



50 
NO. 28. 

Mr. Daveis' ^appointment. 
STATE OF MAINE. 

Secretary of State's Office, ) 
Portland, Nov. 5, 1327. $ 
Charles Stuarf Daveis, Esq. Portland. 
Sir: I am directed to inform you, that you have this day been appointed 
by the Governor of this State, an agent, with authority to act in behalf of the 
State of Maine, in obtaining information, either informal, or by authenticated 
statements, as to all objects relating to rights of property and jurisdiction be- 
tween the governments of the said State, and the Province of New Brunswick. 
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant, 
AMOS NICHOLS, Secretary of State. 



NO. 29. 

Letter from the Governor of the State of Maine to the Lieuten- 
ant Governor of New Brunswick. 

Portland, Nov. 5th, 1827. 

Sir : I have the honor to solicit your friendly reception of 
Charles S. Daveis, Esquire, appointed to obtain information rel- 
ative to our border difficulties. It has been considered due to 
yourself to select, for this Agency, a gentleman of high charac- 
ter, and who in the most acceptable manner, may inquire into 
concerns calculated to produce a war between the United States 
and Great Britain, unless by the forbearance of injuries by New 
Brunswick and Maine, it may be prevented. 

In whatever point of view you may regard this subject, I 
have full confidence that you will permit Mr. Daveis, if only in 
the capacity of a stranger and a gentleman, to pass with your 
countenance through the territory over which you preside, to 
the different portions of country he may wish to visit, for the 
purpose of ascertaining the facts relative to complaints of vio- 
lence and injustice committed on the citizens of Maine. 

This measure has been adopted, not to interrupt, but to cher- 
ish, the most respectful sentiments, and amicable disposition, be- 
tween all those who may be concerned. 

Mr. Daveis' authority does not specially designate his object ; 
but you are requested to consider him as fully empowered to 
demand the release of John Baker, a citizen of Maine, said to 
be confined in the Gaol at Fredericton, and that the persons, 
who arrested him and conveyed him there, may be delivered up 
to be tried by the laws of this State, and dealt with as justice 
may require. 



51 
]VO. 30. 

Letter from the Secretary of State of the United States, to the 
Governor of Maine. 

Washington, 30th October, 1827. 

Sir: I have committed to the charge of Mr. William Prentiss, 
who will have the honor to deliver them and this letter to your Ex- 
cellency, and who is employed for that purpose, twenty- four manu- 
script volumes of Books, according to the accompanying list, on the 
subject of the North and Northeasterly Boundary lines of the Uni-' 
ted States, prepared at this office for the State of Maine, conforma- 
bly with the suggestions and desire expressed by your Excellency. 
From the extent of these manuscripts, it is more than probable that 
they embrace copies of a great deal more, in documents, discussion 
and argument, than was in the contemplation of your Excellency, or 
than was desired for the use of your State ; but to secure a full com- 
pliance with your Excellency's views, and to guard against any de- 
ficiency, I gave directions to have a transcript made of everything 
which might by possibility be useful or interesting upon the occa- 
sion, having the remotest bearing upon the subject, with the limita- 
tion staled in my previous correspondence; and as the selection 
was necessarily committed to others, who may not have had a very 
accurate view of the extent of the Commission entrusted to them, it 
is not improbable that it may comprise much which may be found 
superfluous. 

I send also, forty-two copies of maps, likewise prepared with the 
same views, and under the same circumstances, which Mr. Prentiss 
will also have the honor to deliver to your Excellency. 



]VO. 31. 

Letter from the Governor of Maine, to the Secretary of State of the 
United States. 

Portland, Wth Nov. 1827. 

Sir : I have received the documents you caused to be transmitted 
with the satisfaction naturally excited by fo valuable a testimonial 
of regard for the wishes of this State. An attention which has oc- 
casioned so much trouble, cannot fail to produce a strong sentiment 
of respect, and to call into action a proper sensibility, in acknowl- 
edgment of a burdensome service, from those very deeply interested 
in obtaining it. 

I have also this day received your communication of the date of 
the 10th instant. From its contents, lam made sensible that the ob- 
jections I have had the honor to urge against the submission to a 
foreign umpire of the territorial and jurisdictional rights of Maine, 
without consulting or advising her as to the conditions, have not 
been deemed available. If any injury shall result to her, the ap- 



62 

peal will be made to the people of this country and to posterity. It 
has not seemed arrogant or presumptuous to have expected a re- 
cognition of her rights, and to have asked that ifsheisto be made a 
sacrifice, she might not be devoted without some consideration on 
her part oi" the terms. 

It is not probable that your various important engagements can 
have allowed to my former communications more than the cursory 
glance, which enables the officer in most cases to dispatch business, 
especially in those cases in regard to which he has marked out his 
course ; but, to save repetition, I must ask your indulgence to refer 
to those communications as containing statements and principles 
near to the hearts and interests of this community. When you 
cautioned us against suggestions of compromise and acts of pre- 
caution, it was not believed that it was that you might the more 
easily throw us within the power of an umpire, but that you intend- 
ed to intimate that the powerful arm of the federal government was 
holding its ample shield before us. At last we learn that our strength, 
security and wealth are to be subjected to the mercy of a foreign in- 
dividual, who, it has been said by your minister, " rarely decides 
upon strict principles of law," and "has always a bias to try, if 
possible, to split the difference." I cannot but yield to the impulse 
of saying most respectfully that Maine has not been treated as she 
has endeavored to deserve. 

The painful duty of laying before you the testimony to prove the 
aggressions committed upon citizens of this State, by inhabitants of 
New Brunswick, was seasonably discharged. It is feared that the 
violence committed, has been but the commencement of a system. 
The President will surely bestow his attention upon the case of 
John Baker, who is stated to have been arrested on land conveyed 
to him in fee simple, in the year 1825, by the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts and the State of Maine. The conveyance was vir- 
tually a certificate of citizenship and a pledge for protection. It 
was also an act of State policy, a deliberate political measure, and 
the " Old Commonwealth" and this Republic may well call upon 
the President and Secretary of State to be their protectors. All 
those who have contended against the impressment of the sailor in 
our ships, will resent the arrest of the yeoman on the frontier. Con- 
necting this injury with others, which have been suffered and 
threatened, it has been deemed proper to appoint an Agent of the 
State, to inquire in a friendly and respectful manner, into the facts, 
whose report will enable me to answer fully and correctly the ques- 
tions you have proposed. It is with great deference, submitted that 
every investigation of this subject, will satisfy the federal govern- 
ment that the representations 1 have had the honor to present, 
might have been worthy a serious consideration, which I doubt not 
they have received, although possibly too late. The communica- 
tions to the Lieut. Governor of New Brunswick) and other doci*> 
menti will accompany this letter. 



53 

' """ NO. 3*2. 

PROCLAMATION. 

STATE OF MAINE. 

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MAINE. 

A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas it has been made known to this State, that one of its citizens has 
been conveyed from it, by a Foreign Power, to a gaol in the Province of New- 
Brunswick ; and that many trespasses have been committed by inhabitants of 
the same Province upon the sovereignty of Maine and the rights of those she 
is bound to protect. 

Be it also known, that, relying on the government 'and people of the Union, 
the proper exertion will be applied to obtain reparation and security. 

Those, therefore, suffering wrong, or threatened with it, and those interested 
by sympathy, on account of the violation of our territory and immunities, are 
exhorted to forbearance and peace, so that the preparations for preventing the 
removal of our land marks, and guarding the sacred and inestimable rights of 
American citizens may not be embarrassed by any unauthorized acts. 

ENOCH LINCOLN. 

BY THE GOVERNOR. 

AMOS NICHOLS, Secretary of State. 
Council Chamber, 
Portland, JVov. 9, 1827. 



NO. 33. 

Extract of a Letter from the Secretary of State of the United 
States , to the Governor of Maine. 

Washington, 27th Nov. 1827, 
Sir : I have to acknowledge the receipt of the Letter which your Excellen- 
cy did me the honor to address to me on the 16th instant, with its accompany- 
ments, all of which have been laid before the President. He sees with great 
regret the expression of the sentiment of your Excellency, that " Maine has 
not been treated as she has endeavored to deserve.*' Without engaging, at 
this time, in a discussion of the whole subject of our dispute with Great Britain 
about the Northeastern boundary of the United States, in which the State of 
Maine is so deeply interested, which would be altogether unprofitable, I am 
sure I shall obtain your Excellency's indulgence for one or two general obser- 
vations which seem called for by the above sentiment. 

By the Treaty of Ghent, on the contingency which unhappily occurred, of 
a non-concurrence between the British and American Commissioners in fixing 
that boundary, they were directed respectively to report to their Governments, 
and the difference thus left unadjusted was to be referred to a Sovereign Arbi- 
trator. Your Excellency, in the course of the correspondence which has pass- 
ed between you and this Department, has protested against this reference, and 
your objections to it have received the most respectful consideration. The 
fulfilment of solemn obligations imposed upon the United States by tho faith 
of treaties ; and the duty with which the President is charged by the consti- 
tution, of taking care that the laws (of which our treaties with foreign powers 
form part) be faithfully executed, did not appear to leave him at liberty to 
decline the stipulated reference. If any other practical mode of settling the 
differences had occurred, or been suggested by your Excellency, to the Presi- 
dent, it would have received friendly and deliberate consideration. 

It is certainly most desirable that Nations should arrange all differences be- 
tween them, by direct negotiation, rather than through the friendly agency of 
third powers. This has been attempted and has failed. The Government of 
the United States is fully convinced that the right to the territory in dispute is 



54 

with us and not with Great Britain. The convictions of Maine are not stronger 
in resp'-c' to the validity of oar title, thin those winch are entertained by the 
President. B it Great Britain professes to believe the contrary. The parties 
cannot come to the same conclusion. In this state of tilings what ought to be 
done ? Nitional disputes can he settled only amicably or by an appeal toihe 
sword. All Will agree that before resorting to the latter dreadful alternative, 
every friendly and peaceful measure should be tried and have failed. It is a 
happ} expedient, where nations cannot themselves adjust their differences, to 
avail themselves of the umpirage of a friendly and impartial power. It multi- 
plies the chances of avoiding the greatest of humnn calamities. It is true that 
it is a mode not free from all objection, and Mr. Gallatin has adverted to one, 
in the extract which you give from one of his despatches. But objectionable 
as it may be, it is better and not more uncertain than the events of war. Your 
Excellency seems to think that the clearness of our right should prevent the 
submission of the controversy to an Arbitrator. But the other party professes to 
be equally convinced of the indisputable nature of his claim ; and if that con- 
sideration were to operate on the one side, it would equally influence the other. 
The consequence will be at once perceived. Besides, the clearness of our title 
will attend it before the Arbitrator, and, if we are not deceived in it, his favor- 
able decision is inevitable. 

The President regrets, therefore, that in conducting the negotiation with 
Great Britain, he could not conform to the views of your Excellency, by re- 
fusing to carry into effect a treaty, to the execution of which the good faith of 
the Nation stood pledged, and which was moreover enjoined by the express 
terms of the Constitution. 

But, if he could have brought himself to disregard this double obligation 
under which he is placed, how could the interests of Maine have been ad- 
vanced ? Both parties stand pledged to each other to practice forbearance, 
and to abstain from further acts of sovereignty on the unoccupied waste, until 
the question of right is settled. If that question cannot be settled by the par- 
ties themselves, and may not be settled by arbitration, how is it to be deter- 
mined ? The remaining alternative has been suggested. Whether the time 
has arrived for the use of that, does not belong to the President, but to anoth- 
er branch of the Government to decide. 

1 cannot but hope that your Excellency, upon a review of the whole subject, 
in a spirit of candor, will be disposed to think, that the Executive of the Uni- 
ted States has been endeavoring with the utmost zeal, in regard to our North- 
eastern boundary) to promote the true interests of the United States and of 
the State of Maine ; and that this respectable State has been treated neither 
with neglect nor injustice. 



NO. 34. 

Letter from the Lieutenant Governor of New- Brunswick to the 
Governor of Maine. 
Fredericton, New-Brunswick, 15th Nov. 1827. 

9\k: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of* your Excellency's 
letter of tlie 2"-2<l Octoler, requesting me to communicate all the circum- 
stances respecting the arrest of the individual named in your Excellency's 
letter. 

It is not for me to question the propriety of your Excellency's opening 
a correspondence with the Government of this Province, on a question 
now pending in negotiation between his Majesty's Government and the 
Government of the United States, as contracted under the treaty of 
Ghent ; but it would neither he consistent with my sense of duty, nor in 
"onformity with my insiruetions, to give the explanations your Excellency 



55 

requests, to any persons excepting those with whom T am directed to coi 
respond, or under whose orders i am placed. 

.Should any reference he made by the General Government of the United 
States, to his Majesty's Minister, upon this or any other matter connected 
with the Government of this province, it will he my duty to afford his Ex- 
cellency the fullest information to enahle him to give whatever explana- 
tion he may deem proper. 

Although for these reasons 1 must decline any further correspondence 
with your Excellency on this subject, yet it is in entire unison with the 
sentiments and disposition which [ know to animate His Majesty's Gov- 
ernment, that 1 take this occasion to assure your Excellency of my sincero 
and cordial desire to do all in my power, so far as I personally am at lib- 
erty, to use any discretion in the duties with which 1 am imperatively 
charged, to meet, with respect and consideration, the amicable disposition 
which your Excellency professes. I trust my conduct will he found to 
evince a just and manifest solicitude to repress and punish any acts on the 
disputed territory, which might lead to the interruption of a good under- 
standing hetween the two countries, and to keep the question in a state 
propitious for a speedy and amicable adjustment. 



In the Supreme Court Exchequer Side. 

York, to wit. Be it remembered, that Thomas Wetmore, Esq. At- 
torney General of our Sovereign Lord the King, for this, bis Majesty s 
Province of New-Brunswick, who prosecutes for our said Lord the King, 
comes in his own proper person into the Court of our said Lord the King 
before the Justices of our said Lord the King, at Fredericton, on the se- 
venteenth day of September, in the eighth year of the Reign of our Sove- 
reign Lord the now King, and for our said Lord the King, gives the Court 
here to understand and be informed,— That Whereas a certain Tract or 
Parcel of Land situate i;i the Parish of Kent, in the County of York, in 
the said Province, and lying on both sides of the River Saint John, he 
tween the mouth of the Madawaska River and the River ^amt Francis 
and containing in the whole fifty thousand acres, in the hands and pos- 
session of our said Lord tiie King, on the first day of February, in the 
first year of his Reign, and before and continually after, was, and of right 
ought to be, and yet ought to be, in the right of his Imperial Crown of the 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and as part of the Domin- 
ions of our said Lord the King, in this Province : and for so long a time 
as there is no remembrance of any man to the contrary, has been in the 
possession of the said Lord the King, and his Predecessors, the Kings 
and Queens of'Great Britain and Ireland, and a part of the Dominions of 
the said Crown.— Nevertheless, one John Baker, of the Parish aforesaid, 
in the County aforesaid, Farmer, the Laws of the said Lord the King in 
no wise regarding, but intending the disherision of the said Lord the King 
in the premises, on the first .lay of February, in ihe second year of the 
Reign of our said present Sovereign Lord the King, and on divers days 
and times, before and since, with force and arms and without any lawful 
authority,in and upon the possession of the said Lord the King,of a part ot 
his said lands, to wit, 100 acres thereof, lying on the westerly side of the 
Land Turtle or Mariumpticook River, a branch of the said River St John, 
at the Parish aforesaid, in the County aforesaid, intruded and entered and 
erected and built thereon a certain House and other edifices, and cut and 
felled divers, to wit, five hundred timber and other trees thereon standing 
and growing, of the value together of one hundred pounds, and took and 
carried away the timber and wood arising from the said trees, ami oi ins 
own will disposed thereof, and the issues and profit* of the same lands ac- 



m 

cruing, received, and had, and yet doth receive nnd have to hi? own use 
and still holds and keeps possession of the lands; and the said Tresspass 
aforesaid hitherto and jet continuing to the great annoyance of our said 
Lord the King, in contenip'. of our said Lord the King — and contrary to 
the laws and against the peace of our said Lord the King. 

\\ hereupon the said Attorney General of our said Lord the King, for 
the said Lord the King, prays the advice of the Court here in the premi- 
ses, and that the aforesaid John Baker come here to answer the said Lord 
the King in the premises. 

(Signed,) T. WETMORE, Attorney General. 

Indorsed, J. M. BLISS : 
Examined by nie, and certified to he a true copy, 

T. R. Wetmoke, Clerk to the Attorney General. 

26th November, 1827. 



STATE OF MAINE, 

office of the Secretari 
Portland, Feb. 18, 1828. 



Office of the Secretary of Stale, i 



It is hereby certified that the Documents contained in this 
Pamphlet have been compared with the originals, records 
and copies, remaining in this Office, and appear to be cor- 
rectly printed, with the exception of the errors noted in the 
table of errata. 

A. NICHOLS, Secretary of Stnte 



to JS -^ ^{U^' 

Jan. Scss. 1828.] [Doc. No. 18. 



REPORT 



OF 

/ 



AGENT APPOINTED BY THE EXECUTIVE 



STATE OF MAINE, 



To inquire into and report upon certain facts relating to aggressions 
upon the rights of the State, and of individual citi- 
zens thereof by inhabitants of the 
province oj New-Brunsivick. 



Printed by Order of the Legislature. 



PORTLAND, 

THOMAS TODD, PRINTER TO THE STATE. 



1828. 






STATE OF MAINE. 



IN SENATE, Feb. 6, 1828. 

The Joint Select Committee to whom was referred the 
communication from the Governor of the 2d inst. with the 
Report of the Agent, appointed by the Executive of this State, 
to inquire into and Report upon certain facts relating to ag- 
gressions upon the rights of the State of Maine, and of indi- 
vidual citizens thereof by inhabitants of the Province of New- 
Brunswick, and also the accompanying documents, have care- 
fully examined the same and recommend that Five hundred 
copies of the Report of the said Agent be printed; three hun- 
dred thereof for the use of the members of the Legislature and 
the remaining two hundred to be disposed of at the pleasure of 
the Governor: the Committee also recommend the passage of 
the Resolve, which is herewith submitted. 

JOHN L. MEGQUIER, Chairman. 



In Senate, Feb. 6, 1828. 
Read and accepted — Sent down for concurrence. 

ROBERT P. DUNLAP, President. 



House of Representatives, Feb. 7, 182S. 

The House so far concur with the Senate as to accept that 
part of the Report which relates to the printing and distribu- 
tion of the aforesaid Agent's Report. 

JOHN RUGGLES, Speaker. 



REPORT. 

Portland, January 31st, 1828. 
SIR, 

I have already acquainted your Excellency with my 
proceedings at Fredericton, and the manner in which 
I had performed the duty assigned to me hy your ap- 
pointment, within the province of New- Brunswick. 

In pursuance of the further appointment to inquire 
into the nature of aggressions complained of as hav- 
ing been committed by inhabitants of New-Brunswick 
upon persons residing near the frontier, within the lim- 
its of this State, I endeavored to prosecute the inqui- 
ry and to obtain correct information by the best means 
that were in my power. In the actual condition in 
which your Excellency will perceive the whole inhab- 
ited portion of the country bordering upon the river 
St. John or any of its branches, within our boundary, 
or the region that .is now termed disputed territory, to 
be, it will be for your Excellency to judge with what 
benefit I could have proceeded to the highest points of 
American settlement, without the advantage of a sanc- 
tion from the adjoining authority. It happened, how- 
ever, that I was enabled in company with the gentle- 
man appointed to make corresponding inquiries by the 
President of the United States, to see several persons, 
who had come to Houlton from the country above the 
river Madawaska, in consequence of the state of things 
there existing,or who were engaged in opening a winter 
road, as a communication for the people living on the 
river Aroostook, direct to that plantation. The state- 
ments of these persons were taken under oath, at my 
request, before a magistrate of the county of Wash- 
ington. Other testimony has been also collected in 



the same form by another respectable magistrate of 
the same county, ainojig the settlers on the Aroostook: 
and other evidence has likewise been obtained, from 
which your Excellency may be able in some measure 
to fill up the outline thus exhibited in regard to the 
true state of affairs in that quarter. It is proper for 
me to say that I should not have been deterred from 
undertaking to complete it, by any apprehension of 
inconvenience ; but my situation was not perfectly free 
from embarrassment 5 time had been consumed by 
circumstances beyond my expectation or control, and 
obstacles existed to my progress, which would have 
rendered it difficult to procure positive testimony any 
where in the district of country upon the river St. 
John, extending above the river Madawaska. 

The first course of inquiry relates to the condition 
of settlers on the river Aroostook. The rights of the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts were exercised upon 
the territory situated on this river, at a very early pe- 
riod after the source of the St. Croix was settled un- 
der the Convention of 1794. In executing this Con- 
vention it was distinctly admitted by the representa- 
tives of the British government in this country, that 
the boundary line of the treaty of 1783 crossed the St. 
John. Grants were accordingly made by the legisla- 
ture of Massachusetts of sections of land embracing 
both banks of the Aroostook and bordering on the 
boundary line, namely — one to the town of Plymouth 
and one to General Eaton, Locations of these 
lands were made, and surveys were commenced under 
the authority of Massachusetts, and lines were run 
around one of the tracts, more than twenty years ago 5 
and lot tings were made in the year 1812. 

These acts were performed in the presence of the 
Provincial Government established on the borders of 
the river St. John. That stream afforded the only 
communication then open to this country, and thence 
supplies and assistants were procured for the purpose 
of making the above survey in 1800 or 1807. It is 



not known that any further acts were exercised on be- 
half of the original proprietors of these granted lands, 
or that any improvements were made upon them prior 
to the late war with Groat Britain. The further oc- 
cupation of this remote frontier for the purpose of ag- 
riculture was necessarily suspended during that peri- 
od ; nor is it kuown, that tin re was a single settler of 
any description upon the Aroostook, when this inter- 
ruption ceased, at the conclusion of peace in 1815. 
This event was succeeded by a course of seasons and 
circumstances unfavorable to the progress of popula- 
tion and improvement iri that quarter ; and also by the 
measures wtiich ensued for the separation of Maine. 
Upon the establishment of this State$ the survey of 
this section of country was resumed by a joint com- 
mission of the two States, for the purpose of divid- 
ing their common properly, pursuant to the provisions 
of the Act of Separation, according to the direction 
of their respective legislatures. The progress of these 
surveys was observed in the province of New-Bruns- 
wick, and they have been extended over nearly all the 
country in the territory of Maine watered by the Aroos- 
took. 

It was discovered, that trespasses were committed 
on this territory by persons belonging to the province, 
in cutting tiaiber. Opportunity had existed for pur- 
suing such practices with impunity, in the open and 
unguarded state of the country, from the ease of ac- 
cess thereto by persons engaged in that business from 
the river St. John. This operation was arrested by 
the authority of this State, and partial indemnity ob- 
tained for the trespasses that had taken place, and, 
upon objection being made, the practice of granting 
licenses for this purpose, which it was presumed 
had issued improvident!)', was relinquished by 
the government of New Brunswick. Subsequent to 
the last census, and the adoption of the above pro- 
ceedings by the authority of this State, in connexion 
witii Massachusetts, a number of persons, some citi- 
zens of the United States, and others formerly belong- 



I . : to the British provinces, principally descendants 
of persons horn in tiiis country, out of the province of 
New-Brunswick, before the revolution, have settled on 
this territory. A few foreigners are intermixed with 
the Americans, and a small numher of Irish are un- 
derstood to have planted themselves in the neighbor- 
hood of the line. Some seem to have gone on under 
the persons who have cut timber. With whatever im- 
pression the original trespassers may have gone on, 
the present settlers appear to have established them- 
selves generally in that country under the opinion, that 
it was American territory. They understood that 
they were within the boundary line, as it had been re- 
peatedly run. -They were so informed by respectable 
persons, and assured to the same effect by public 
agents. They learned that a part of the land had been 
granted by the government, and knew that the country 
was surveyed by the States; and their object was to 
obtain title of confirmation to their possessions, either 
from the proprietor or the States. It is believed 
that these remarks apply to all the native Americans; 
and the only exceptions to them are understood to be 
individuals of foreign extraction. The population of 
this settlement is represented to be of the same gen- 
eral description, which has been formed on the new 
American settlements in the vicinity of Houlton. The 
traits of character by which their appearance and con- 
duct are chiefly marked, are industry, activity, hardi- 
hood, sense?, and honesty. 

These settlers have only an equitable title to their 
lands, some of which they have cleared up and culti- 
vated, and from which they have taken good crops for 
s"\ oral successive seasons. They have made some at- 
tempts to avail themselves of the advantages afforded 
upon their streams for the erection of gristmills, which 
bave not been fortunate; and their means for this 
purpose are quite inadequate. 

The settlers > of this section have been peculiarly 

iluated. They are nearly isolated from the rest of 

the community. They have not enjoyed the benefit 



of any legal magistracy, nor the advantage of any in- 
ternal intercourse, being surrounded with wilderness 
except by the circuitous course of the St. John to- 
ward lloulton. The connexions of these people have 
been necessarily with that river, where they have 
sought a market or conveyance for their produce, and 
whence they have been obliged to derive their supplies. 
The American inhabitants, whose concerns have car- 
ried them towards the river St. John, have been ex- 
posed to a system of municipal regulations or inhibi- 
tions, operating on articles of domestic produce, and 
subjecting it to seizure any where in its transit. The 
manner in which some of these regulations have been 
put in force will appear from affidavits of persons be- 
longing a considerable distance below the Aroostook. 
Instances of this description are complained of as 
numerous ; but as they principally relate to acts of 
authority performed within the province of New- 
Brunswick, as some of the offices which produced 
these vexations have been abolished, and as some mo- 
dification has lately taken place in the provisions of 
province law on this subject, the effect of which is not 
fully understood, the inquiry has not been extended 
how far they have been applied to any individuals 
above. Seizures, however, under some pretext, seem 
to have been committed on the Aroostook. 

The settlers upon the Aroostook, in addition to their 
ordinary privations, have been affected by the general 
depression occasioned by the recent embarrassment of 
business and injury to credit among the larger dealers 
upon the river St. John ; and it is natural to suppose 
that they may have thus found it difficult to obtain 
the means to satisfy debts, generally small, which they 
owe upon the river ; and they are not able to defray 
the expenses attached there to litigation. On the oth- 
er hand, the American territory has afforded them no 
asylum. No acts of pretended authority, however, in 
violation of the jurisdiction of this State, under pre- 
text of judicial power, are known to have taken place 
until a comparatively late period. Mr. George More- 



8 

house resides at Tobique, on the opposite bank of the 
St. John, within a parish recently ibruied by the name 
of Kent; he formerly bore the commission of a sub- 
altern officer in the army ; and at present it is stated 
actually exercises a commission of the Peace for the 
county of York. For two or three years past he ap- 
pears to have been in the habit of issuing precepts di- 
rected to the Constables of the parish of Kent, for 
the recovery of small demands, against inhabitants on 
the Aroostook. One other person, supposed to be a 
provincial magistrate, is mentioned as having issued a 
single precept in like manner 5 and service of these 
precepts is made upon inhabitants many miles within 
the boundary line, by persons undertaking to act as 
Constables of the parish of Kent. The manner in 
which these persons proceed to execute their offices, 
some with more mildness and civility, and one who is 
represented as generally coming armed, and treating 
them with greater harshness, is detailed in several affi- 
davits. In the execution of these precepts it appears 
that the cattle and moveables of the inhabitants are 
subjected to be taken and immediately carried away, 
to be disposed of within the British territory ; and 
that the practice is extended to take articles of pro- 
perty belonging to the debtor, which are exempted from 
attachment and execution by the laws of this State. 
In one instance it appears, that the same cow, being 
the last and only one, was taken twice on a warrant or 
warrants from Mr. Morehouse, issued on the same de- 
mand, the second seizure being on account of costs. 
The inhabitants themselves have also been arrested on 
these precepts, and not being able to find bail where 
none could be legally taken, are removed as fast as 
possible over the lines to places of safety within the 
province, where they may be able to procure sureties, 
or settle the debts, or otherwise make their peace with 
the officer or the magistrate. 

This practice appears to have prevailed with some 
frequency. One or two cases appear to have occur- 
red in connexion with this practice of Mr. Morehouse 



in. which precepts have been served, either from him 
or from authority further below, by a Mr. Craig, Dep- 
uty Sheriff of the County of York. One of the settlers 
on the Aroostook was solicited by Mr. Morehouse 
to act as constable for the parish of Kent, but after 
being qualified by him, declined to serve. It is possi- 
ble, that instances have occurred, in which settlers 
above the line, from want of other resort, may have 
been led incautiously, or from different motives indu- 
ced, to apply to Mr. Morehouse. 

But the difficulties to which the inhabitants have 
been subjected in consequence of this practice, the 
disproportionate amount of expenses, attached to the 
collection of small demands, and the certainty of the 
law, as they consider it to be administered by Mr. 
Morehouse, seem to have produced an endeavor to 
adjust disputes among themselves, by a species of 
submission to referees, and thereby avoid the autho- 
rity undertaken to be exercised antong them by the 
officers of the parish of Kent or the county of York. 

That this state of things should have resulted in 
the collisions, that have occurred between the persons 
despatched by Mr. Morehouse and the people living 
on the Aroostook, is rather a subject of regret than a 
matter of surprise. In the absence of any regular 
administration of justice, having adopted the principle 
of an equitable arbitration, to which they undertook 
to yield voluntary deference, the inconvenience of hav- 
ing its first operation overruled by the order of Mr. 
Morehouse seems to have led to a sort of after con- 
sideration or inquiry respecting the bounds of the par- 
ish of Kent ; and consequently into a question con- 
cerning the applicability of Mr. Morehouse's author- 
ity within the American boundary. Admitting that 
authority to extend to the settlement on the Aroos- 
took, the opposition into which Dalton and others, who 
undertook to aid Arnold in the recovery of his cow, 
were betrayed, would be clearly without justification. 
At all events it is obvious, that the state of doubt which 
has thus been cast upon their condition, has 4ed to the 
2 






10 

unfortunate consequences of irregular reprisal ; and 
however it may be deemed a measure of venial offence 
against unauthorized aggression, it has involved the 
well meaning and otherwise unoffending inhabitants of 
this settlement in the evils of a state of border war- 
fare. Several illustrative details are exhibited in the 
affidavits. The inhabitants of the Aroostook, while 
they have thus been subject to process from Mr. More- 
house, do not seem to have been considered by him as 
being entitled to the protection of the government 
which he undertakes to personate. Early last spring 
he appeared among them, and forbid their working on 
the lands and continuing their usual labors of clearing 
and cultivation, to get a living. He posted up written 
notices to this effect on the Eaton grant, and in different 
places; and marked some small parcels of lumber, which 
they had cut, for seizure. It was shortly alter this period 
that GeorgeField, whose affidavit is exhibited, appears 
to have left the country in consequence,ashe says,of the 
inconveniences to which he was exposed, and went with 
his family toHoulton. These settlers seem to have been 
generally regarded by Mr. Morehouse in some light 
as a sort of outlaws, or wild people, who had no prop- 
er habitancy, and were liable to be dealed with in any 
manner that might please the province of New-Bruns- 
wick or its proper officers. In no legal light do they 
seem to have been regarded as subjects, except as tres- 
passers and intruders on crown lands, liable to judi- 
cial process; and under color of some such character, 
measures appear to have been subsequently applied 
to divest them of their property, and expel them from 
their possessions. 

Early in the month of July last, Daniel Craig 
came with the first writ from Mr. Morehouse to take 
the cow that Arnold had of M'Crea ; and also 
delivered summonses to the settlors to appear forthwith 
before the Court, which was then on the point of 
sitting at Fredericton, to answer to the King of 
Great Britain, in pleas of trespass and intrusion on 
crown lands. This process was served by him indis- 



11 

eriminately on all the inhabitants, including the citi- 
zens of the United States, as well as those born in 
the provinces, or others. This sudden proceeding 
naturally produced a state of confusion and conster- 
nation among the settlers. No time was afforded 
them to deliberate. It was necessary to set out 
immediately in order to arrive in season. Some 
concluded to go, and others determined #o stay. 
Some proceeded part way, and then returned home. 
Others kept on their journey to Fredericton ; among 
whom were some of the Americans. Those, who 
continued to the end, were subjected to severe priva- 
tions, and were obliged to remain several days, with- 
out means of support, or being able to obtain any 
other satisfaction, than that it would be necessary 
to appear again the present winter. The narrative 
of these circumstances is contained in some of the 
affidavits, and may suffice to convey an impression 
of the embarassment and distfess occasioned among 
these settlers by the service of this process. 

The affair which followed soon after respecting the 
taking and retaking of the cow, which was adjudged 
by the referees to belong to Arnold, on the warrant 
of Mr. Morehouse, accompanied with a sense of their 
having exposed themselves to his displeasure, and 
perhaps to the whole force of authority from New- 
Brunswick, operated with the menaces of the consta- 
ble employed on that occasion, and the conduct of the 
Irishmen at the lines, and the reports which they 
received now and then from below, to keep the in- 
habitants of Aroostook in a continual state of agita- 
tion and alarm. They were particularly threatened 
with a visit by a larger party than the former, to 
punish those who were engaged in that affray, antf 
put an end to any further spirit of opposition by 
destroying all means of resistance, or removing the 
inhabitants from the settlement. The reality of the 
apprehensions entertained by the persons who were 
concerned in that affair, is attested by the circum- 
stances of their being afraid to occupy their own 



12 

habitations, lodging about in different places, in 
barns, or in the woods, mustering together for the 
night in larger or smaller parties, or separating for 
greater security. The statements of several of the 
settlers on this subject relate to particulars within 
their experience or knowledge. 

A circumstance, that may seem not to have dimin- 
ished the ground of these apprehensions, occurred 
some time in the month of November last. The 
dwelling of Ferdinand Armstrong was entered about 
break of day by a small party from below, who seized 
his brother James Armstrong, soon after he had risen 
from bed, and conveyed him in a canoe, without loss 
of time, out of the territory. He was obliged to 
give up ar'i les of wearing apparel, and part with 
what means he had, in order to obtain his release, the 
party pretending to have authority to compel payment 
ofa debt and costs. Threats were also uttered that men 
and horses were coming up the first sledding, to take 
those who were concerned in the offence about taking 
the cow away. RLhard Inman, who was particu- 
larly mentioned as of the coming party, appears to be 
one oi the persons previously employed by Mr. 
Morehouse, and whom the settlers were most afraid 
of, in consequence of his practice of visiting them 
with arms. 

in consequence of these occurrences and impres- 
sions, the inhabitants of the AroosLook have been 
afraid to go down to the river St. John, either to 
mill, or 10 obtain their necessary supplies, and have 
undertaken the present winter to effect a communica- 
tion with Ilouhon, by cutting out a road altogether 
within the American territory. They were employed 
upon it the. last of December, and judged they were 
about abreast of Mars hill, and hoped to accomplish 
it in about thirty working days. The pioneers em- 
ployed to mark out the direction had found their way 
out at Foxcroft, after enduring intense cold, and suf- 
fering most severe hardships. 



13 

The condition of the inhabitants of the Aroostook 
may be shortly summed up. They are of die sane 
general description as those that have made purchases 
and improvements within the new townships or plan- 
tations on the American territory, living in the nci h- 
borhood of each other and of the river St. John. They 
are upon land, of which grants and surveys were 
commenced several years ago, sometime before the 
war with Great Britain, under the authority of Mas- 
sachusetts, without remonstrance or objection from 
New-Brunswick. They have settled upon the terri- 
tory along thirty miles into the interior, without title, 
subject to the rights of the proprietor or the proprie- 
taries, and to the laws ol this State, then established. 
They acknowledge its authority, and, as it would 
seem to follow, are entitled to its protection. 

The authority of New Brunswick cannot apply to 
them on the ground, that any of them had been for- 
merly inhabitants of that province, any more than 
that of Maine extends to its citizens in New Bruns- 
wick. A government has no power to cause precepts 
to be executed upon its own subjects in a foreign 
jurisdiction. The Government of the United States 
shields aliens who are residents, and are well affected 
towards its principles, and wish to become citizens. 
But several of them are American citizens. 

The actual survey and occupation of this whole 
country, under the public authority of Maine and 
Massachusetts, were entitled to consideration from 
the province of New-Brunswick. These acts were 
at least to be respected, as assertions of ri ght, on the 
part of those two States; and some regard might 
have been had to the circumstance, that this right 
was originally exercised under ignorance of any 
adverse claim, and long before any was advanced. 
On the other hand, no act had ever been exercised 
on this territory by the government of New Bruns- 
wick, except in permitting its subjects to cut timber 
the same as on crown lands. 

So irregular a practice could not be sanctioned 



14 

or sustained; and in compliance with the sense oi' the 
superior government, it is supposed, that the preten- 
sion was relinquished as untenahle, with a fairness of 
profession which gave it credit. The power of remo- 
ving the trees from the territory, brought into dispute, 
has heen abandoned ; and a new practice has taken 
place, to wit, that of removing the people there plan- 
ted. If this principle can be supported, it abrogates 
the whole authority of the State of Maine over this 
portion of its territory. 

The next course of inquiry relates to the state of 
things upon the territory of Maine upon the river St. 
John, within the boundary line, which crosses that 
river, about three miles above the Grand Falls, where 
the navigation of the river is interrupted, and where it 
was contemplated on the part of Great Britain, in de- 
termining the St. Croix, that the meridian would cross. 
It may be proper, in the first place, to advert to the 
situation of a colony of French settlers which planted 
themselves within our territory, principally, if not 
entirely, since the acknowledgment and establish- 
ment of the bounds of Massachusetts, by the treaty 
of 1783. This settlement was composed of ancient 
French neutrals, who had originally endeavored to 
escape from the government of Nova Scotia, or of 
their descendants, who had been expelled from their 
farms and improvements on the establishment of the 
province of New Brunswick ; and who have been 
joined from time to time by their countrymen from 
Canada, who have not chosen to continue under the 
government established on its conquest. 

It is not known whether any individual of Europe- 
an origin existed on this territory at the peace of 1782; 
nor that excepting aboriginals, any other than descen- 
dants of French ancestors had made any occupation, 
prior to the peace of 1815. The Acadians had retir- 
ed with the Indians from the presence of the popula- 
tion, which took possession of that ancient part of 
Nova Scotia, after it was yielded to Great Britain and 
settled by emigrants from the United States, who ad- 



15 

hercd to the British government; and have always liv- 
ed in great harmony among themselves, as a distinct 
race, preserving their own language, habits, and man- 
ners. Situated near the borders of the American ter- 
ritory, at a distance from any officers of government, 
they appear to have also preserved their neutral char- 
acter, and to have remained as a people by themselves, 
so far as they might be permitted by their position to- 
ward the province of New- Brunswick. Without hav- 
ing any sympathy with the system established in that 
government, they have not been in a condition to oppose 
the exercise of any power that might be exerted over 
them. Little occasion could be presented for the em- 
ployment of criminal process, among the relics of a 
primitive population, represented as of a "mild, fru- 
gal, industrious, and pious character," desirous of 
finding a refuge under the patriarchal and spiritual 
power of their religion. It has been customary for 
them to settle their civil affairs of every description, 
including their accidental disputes and differences 
among themselves, by the aid of one or two arbiters 
or umpires, associated with the Catholic Priest, who 
is commonly a missionary from Canada. Without 
any predilection toward a foreign faith or power, they 
have had a natural desire to be quieted in their posses- 
sions ; and it is stated that one or two of them, under 
circumstances not exactly known, either obtained or 
accepted grants of certain parcels of their property at 
an early period from the province. The propriety of 
relinquishing any practice of that kind, after the de- 
termination of the St. Croix, was obvious ; and the 
benefit of a sanction might have been allowed to the 
previous facts of this description, without attaching to 
them any injurious motive or effect. The whole coun- 
try, however, not in actual possession of any cultiva- 
tor, was considered by the French settlers as open to 
occupation at the period of the last peace with Eng- 
land. 

In 1817 an American was invited to seat himself 
near the mouth of the Madawaska river, where he 



1() 

was assured that no one had any right of property, 
and when it was afterwards claimed by virtue of a ti- 
tle, the tact was denied hy the Indians on the ground 
that the right belonged to them. This American, one 
who went from Kennehec, accordingly moved away 
from the place which he first took, to a situation near 
the St. Francis, where he still lives, unless recently 
removed. 

It appears that a military post formerly existed at 
the Grand Falls, immediately below the boundary; 
and it is said that a militia authority was exercised 
among the inhabitants of Madawaska. Some power 
of this kind might perhaps have been used at an early 
period, before the territory was explored and the 
boundary of New-Brunswick determined under the 
convention of 1794<; and it is not probable, that the 
French would have resisted any measure taken to 
compel them to train as militia. The works at the 
Grand Falls have been suffered to go to decay ; and 
there is no reason to presume that a superfluous mili- 
tary organization was maintained among the remote 
inhabitants of Madawaska. 

It is not presumable that any usurpation of that 
nature existed for a long period ; especially after the 
settlement was known to fall within the American 
territory. If such an use of form or force was con- 
tinued however, it is to be inquired whether it can 
be viewed in any other light than that of aggres- 
sion upon the rights of the State, and those under its 
jurisdiction, and entitled to its protection. The re- 
cent formation of militia companies in that district 
presents itself as an act of the same character; and 
it is reported that a foreigner, by the name of Fran is 
Rh;e, has stationed himself in this settlement, and 
undertake to act as an adjutant of tiie militia of 
New-Brunswick. 

Difference of religious faith and diversity of habits 
have naturally tended to prevent an intermixture be- 
tweeii the American and French population. The 
country in general above as well as below the river 
Madawaska, has taken the popular description of that 



17 

river, and the name is generally made use of by the 
Americans residing upon the higher and more remote 
branches of the St. John. The Madavvaska settle- 
ment extends several miles down the branch of the St. 
John, below the mouth of the Madawaska river. 
Several settlers were also scattered above, and a space 
existed of several miles above the mouth of that river, 
which has recently been occupied by French settlers, 
some from Canada, and others from the settlement be- 
low, and formed into a new settlement by the name of 
Chateauqua. They have undertaken to erect a church, 
and it is stated that a militia company has been form- 
ed among them, by authority out of this State. This 
new settlement extends from the mouth of the Mada- 
waska river to the vicinity of the mouth of the Mari- 
umticook stream, where the American settlement, 
properly so called, commences. Whether any foreign 
measures have been taken in forwarding the progress 
of the new French settlement, is not known. They 
are without titles to their lands except by occupation, 
and they have not been disturbed in their possession. 
Fines, however, have been imposed upon some of them 
for refusing to perform militia duty, from abroad, du- 
ring the past year, without regarding the objection 
that has been made among them to train, on the ground 
of their being within the American government. 

The situation of the recent settlement seems to mer- 
it some attention, from the circumstance of its now 
forming the connecting link between the former French 
settlement below, and the American settlement im- 
mediately above. It is also brought into notice by 
the attention apparently bestowed upon it by the pro- 
vince of New-Brunswick, which extends the demand of 
militia duty as high as this settlement, and considers 
all the Americans who are settled above it as aliens. 
It may be proper to remark in this place, that any oc- 
cupation, which the government of New-Brunswick 
may have held within the American territory, being 
without right, and against right, its operation is not to 
be enlarged by any favorable construction. 

3 



18 

Before passing from the consideration of the French 
settlement in this State, it may be proper to remark, 
that the population of the whole community, accord- 
ing to the census taken by the authority of the United 
States in 1820, amounted to. over eleven hundred. 
The computation probably included a number of 
American settlers, who had come into the country not 
ong before, and were enrolled in the same manner 
with them in the body of American citizens. If since 
that period any of these persons have been induced to 
go into the province, in order to give their votes ; if 
provincial magistrates have been allowed to send civil 
process into this settlement 5 if individuals have been 
employed to officiate in executing the provincial po- 
lice; these can only be viewed as acts, which it is ex- 
tremely difficult to reconcile with sentiments of re- 
spect for the opinion signified by the government of 
the United States. After this French settlement was 
found to fall within the survey of the American boun- 
dary, these settlers, being in no other sense to be re- 
garded as British subjects than as they might happen 
to reside in British territory, it would have manifested 
a decent respect to the authority of the United States, 
beyond the most repeated exterior demonstration, to 
have abstained from direct exercises of supreme juris- 
diction. 

The first American settlement was made above the 
French, and commenced from the clearest informa- 
tion, in the year 1817. It consisted of several per- 
sons then citizens of Massachusetts, who moved from 
the Kennebec, and established themselves with their 
families on different spots, the lowest at the mouth of 
the Mariurnticook, and the highest not far from the 
mouth of the St. Francis. It was well known in the 
province of New-Brunswick, that these emigrants 
considered they were on American territory, and that 
their object was to obtain a title under the American 
government. It was also understood w that they carri- 
ed with them a magistrate, and that they intended to 
procure an incorporation. Whether any, or what 



19 

measures may have been taken by persons within th« 
province, acting upon this information, it is not with- 
in my power to detail. It may be remarked, howev- 
er, that according to the best account, the whole ter- 
ritory of which they entered into occupation, was pre- 
viously uninhabited, and unimproved. The provincial 
government had never made any grant above the river 
Madawaska. The American settlers on the St. John 
were above any French settler. They and their as- 
signs have since continued in the occupation of their 
lands, and a portion of the original settlers still remain. 
In 1S25, grants were made by George W. Coffin 
and James Irish, Esquires, acting as joint Agents for 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and State of 
Maine, by virtue of resolves of the respective Legis- 
latures, bearing date February 2G, and June 11, 1825, 
to John Baker and James Bacon, severally, descri- 
bing them as inhabitants of a plantation called and 
known by the name of the Madawaska settlement, in 
the county of Penobscot, situate upon the river St. 
John. The land granted to Baker was described as 
beginning at Mariumtieook stream or point on the St. 
John river, and bounded to contain an hundred acres. 
This was the same point of land which was original- 
ly taken up by his brother, Nathan Baker, one of the 
original emigrants from Kennebec, then deceased. It 
was a mill seat, where there have been erected a saw- 
mill and a grist mill. John Baker married his broth- 
er's widow, and has brought up his family. He has 
been building a new house, which would have been 
finished last fall. The land granted to Bacon was be- 
low the grant to Baker, between the point and the new 
French settlement. Since the foundation of the A- 
merican settlement before mentioned, a number of 
other American settlers had taken possession, and made 
improvements, without interfering,except by purchase, 
with any previous occupation. 

The Land Agents of Massachusetts and Maine ap- 
pointed provisionary Agents, with authority to grant 
permits to cut pine timber on the territory of the 



20 

United States. Without a permission of this kind, 
it may be noticed, the mill at the mouth of the Mari- 
umticook would have been useless. The government 
of New-Brunswick became informed of this fact. A 
considerable quantity of lumber, partly purchased by 
John Baker before mentioned, and partly made at his 
mill, was afterwards seized in passing down the river 
St. John. Timber cut on crown lands within the 
province, by British subjects, was allowed to be re- 
deemed by paying a certain duty. This composition 
w r as a privilege denied to Baker, whose property on 
that occasion appears to have been confiscated on the 
ground that he was not a British subject. All the 
Americans settled above the river Madawaska, are re- 
garded as aliens by the provincial government of New - 
Brunswick ; and a certain fine or tax has been de- 
manded of them, called the alien tax. This is a spe- 
cies of joint military and civil action, exercised in 
the first place by provincial officers of militia, and en- 
forced by Justices of the Peace. One or two cases 
have occurred, in which precepts have been sent among 
the American settlers on civil suits,by Mr. Morehouse, 
who resides upwards of fifty fifties below, on the river 
St. John. On one occasion, an American above Cha- 
teauqua was arrested on a warrant from Mr. More- 
house, on a charge of larceny by one of the settlers; 
but the evidence against him being insufficient, no final 
proceedings took place, and he was discharged. The 
real culprit was afterwards discovered, and on his con- 
fession the Americans were proceeding to conduct him 
to Houlton, nearly an hundred and forty miles distant; 
but on their way he made his escape in the woods. — 
The American settlers have been subject to these and 
similar inconveniences, no doubt, in consequence of 
the absence of any civil officers, such as were recom- 
mended to be appointed by the Land Agents; and oc- 
casions have thus been afforded for admitting the agen- 
cy of Mr. Morehouse, as a civil magistrate, which 
wo. j Id not otherwise have existed ; and for which some 
possible apology might be found in the circumstances 
of the country. An exercise of this intrusive authori- 



21 

ty, however, in the course of the past year, appears to 
have given rise to a species of opposition among the 
Americans, which was construed by Mr. Morehouse 
as resistance to his authority. 

It appears that some difficulty took place in pro- 
curing the service of a writ which was sent by Mr. 
Morehouse against James Bacon ; and it may be 
suitable to state the circumstances accompany- 
ing that transaction. It seems, that reflection on 
their situation, combined with a sense of the incon- 
venience to which they were exposed, from the acts 
of Mr. Morehouse, led to an understanding among 
them io avoid any employment of his authority ; and, 
having no regular magistrate, to endeavor to settle 
their affairs, as well as they could, among themselves. 
The unfavorable opinion cherished by Mr. More- 
house, in respect to the Americans at that settlement, 
may have contributed to increase their aversion ; and 
his occasional visits to view their proceedings may 
have tended to strengthen a mutual dislike. Mr. 
Morehouse had formerly demanded Bacon's deed 
from the Agents, and knew the title under which he 
held. He had also made inquiry into the authority 
given to Bacon by the Land Agents, respecting the 
cutting of timber, and satisfied himself on that subject. 
Recently he sent a person with a writ, to arrest Ba- 
con, on a small demand in favor of one of the inhabi- 
tants ; and the deputy sent by him returned without 
effecting service. Another person was then sent, 
accompanied by a considerable party, with a view, 
probably, to make effectual service. Bacon collected 
a number of his friends about him at his house, which 
is on the land granted to him, below Baker's, and, 
supported by their presence, signified his refusal to 
submit to the mandate of Mr. Morehouse. 

The principle on which they placed their determi- 
nation was, that they were Americans, on American 
ground, and that Mr. Morehouse had no right to 
extend his authority over them. Some resentment 
was manifested bv them towards the individual who 



22 

had the indiscretion to apply to Mr. Morehouse ; but 
no violence used towards any of the party who came 
to arrest Bacon. The leader of the party, who offi- 
ciated on that occasion as a constable of the parish 
of Kent, became convinced of the inexpediency of 
proceeding to execute his precept, and professed to 
respect the ground of their determination. It was 
agreed to settle the demand by amicable reference, 
which was accordingly done, and the affair termina- 
ted ; except that the constable afterwards pretended 
to have an execution from Mr. Morehouse, for the 
costs. The spirit of opposition to the power of Mr. 
Morehouse, discovered on this occasion, assumed the 
form of a general agreement among the American 
inhabitants, to avoid all applications of foreign autho- 
rity, and extended to an outright denial of the British 
provincial jurisdiction. For the legality of this posi- 
tion, they reasoned and relied upon their original 
character as American citizens 5 the circumstances 
of their settlement, in that capacity, upon vacant 
American territory \ and the assurances of the Land 
Agents, which they understood decidedly to that 
effect. Whether they were deceived in the ground 
they took, by officious and unwarrantable acts, or 
whether any errors they may have committed, may 
be imputable to omissions on the part of either State 
to provide for the security of property, and preserva- 
tion of citizenship, it belongs only for those to con- 
sider, by whom the powers in fact exercised, were 
imparted. The measures now made use of by Mr. 
Morehouse, were directly brought to bear upon the 
right of the two States to make the grant to Bacon. 
This being the lowest grant upon the river* St. John, 
was the only barrier against a general inroad of au- 
thority from the quarter below, where Mr. More- 
house resided, to the American territory above ; and 
the taking of the person of Bacon, without remon- 
strance, from the position in which he was placed by 
the act of the two governments, might have removed 
the only obstruction, and determined the practical 
question. A paper writing was accordingly drawn 



23 

up, and signed by the American inhabitants gene- 
rally, constituting a sort of compact, by which they 
agreed to adjust all disputes among themselves, by 
virtue of referees, without admission of British au- 
thority, and that they would support each other in 
abiding by this determination. This was to be a 
provisional agreement, to continue in force only for 
one year 5 and, in the mean time, application was to 
be made to the government, in order to be made cer- 
tain of their condition, and to obtain, if possible, the 
benefit of some regular authority. Of the propriety 
of this resolution, or of the proceedings by which it 
was accompanied, it is not for me to express an 
opinion. It may suffice to say, that it seems to have 
been dictated by the necessity of their situation 5 that 
as citizens of Maine, some reference was proper to 
the rights and sentiments of the State ; and that in 
any judgment of their actions, some respect should 
be had to the authority of Maine. 

As a prelude to this arrangement, the Americans 
generally assembled on land conveyed to John Baker 
by the States of Maine and Massachusetts, and there 
erected a staff and raised a rude representation of the 
national eagle. They also partook of a repast provi- 
ded by Baker, and enjoyed the festivity in the manner 
that is usual to Americans,in celebrating that occasion. 
One of the French was hired as a musician, and a few 
others were attracted by the spectacle, and invited to 
the table. The same thing has been sometimes done 
by Americans transiently collected in the provinces, 
on the same anniversary, without affording offence. 
But on the present occasion there is no ground to 
doubt, that it was deliberately done to advertise Mr. 
Morehouse of the manner in which they viewed their 
own rights and his authority ; and when he appeared, 
as was probably expected, to inquire into the meaning 
of this ensign, it was explained to him. Mr. More- 
house thereupon gave order for its removal to Baker, 
which the latter refused to obey. It is not known 
that either of these persons had any more direct au- 
thority for his proceeding than the other ; which had 



24 

the better right may admit of a distinct question. 
But the object was to apprize Mr. Morehouse of their 
opinion. Neither Baker nor Bacon pretended to ex- 
ercise any authority among their fellow citizens, on 
this occasion, although they probably rendered them- 
selves conspicuous to Mr. Morehouse. The epithet 
of General was one that was not bestowed on Baker 
until after this affair. Mr. Morehouse also demanded 
the paper of agreement that had been entered into by 
the Americans; which they declined to deliver. Mr. 
Morehouse was informed that the paper had been offer- 
ed to one Peter Markee, a French lad who was at the 
American settlement. If this was done with any in- 
tention, it was a circumstance which took place in the 
absence of Mr. Baker, and was contrary to the origi- 
nal purpose, which was to confine the step to Americans 
exclusively. Mr.Baker,hearing a report that the route 
of the mail was altered, (a change which the Americans 
had no wish to take place, as it was a matter of con- 
venience to them,) and meeting the carrier in his canoe 
inquired whether such was the fact. This inquiry 
was undoubtedly misconstrued by the Frenchman 
who carried the mail, and the circumstance might 
have been exaggerated to Mr. Morehouse. Upon 
information of this kind, however, together with his 
Own knowledge, Mr. Morehouse subsequently pro- 
ceeded to issue a warrant for the arrest of Baker, and, 
it is also understood, of James Bacon and Charles 
Stutson. In the mean time the inhabitants agreed 
upon referees,and appointed Baker and Bacon a depu- 
tation to proceed to the seat of government with a 
request to have their case laid before the Legislature 
at its next session 5 and to inquire of the executive 
authority whether they were recognized as citizens of 
the State and entitled to the protection of its govern- 
ment. Having received an answer in the affirmative, 
to be communicated to their constituents, with injunc- 
tions to observe the utmost caution in their conduct, 
and having left their application to be laid before the 
Legislature, they returned through the wilderness by 



25 

the way they came, and arrived at home a sliort time 
before the execution of Mr. Morehouse's precept. 

Early in the morning of the 25th of September last, 
soon after their return, while Baker and his family 
were asleep, his house was surrounded by an armed 
force, and entered by persons of a civil character and 
others armed with fusees, &c. who seized Baker in 
his bed, and conveyed him without loss of time out of 
the State. The particulars relating to this circum- 
stance are detailed in the statement of Asahel Baker, 
a nephew of John Baker, who was first awakened by 
the entry, and which, although not exhibiting any 
solemn attestation, may, nevertheless, be relied upon 
as substantially correct. It is proper to add, that the 
person, conducting the execution of the warrant, pro- 
ved to be of high official character and personal 
respectability in the Province of New-Brunswick. He 
was informed that papers were in possession of Baker 
under the authority of the States, but he replied that 
it was not in his power to attend to any remonstrance. 
No resistance was made by Mr.Baker,and no opportu- 
nity was afforded him to have intercourse with any of 
his friends and neighbors, from whom it is reasonable 
to suppose opposition might have been apprehended. 
Mr. Baker was carried before Mr. Morehouse, iu 
obedience to the warrant ; it does not appear that 
any examination took place however 5 but that he 
was conveyed to Fredericton and there committed to 
gaol. The letter from your excellency to the Ameri- 
can inhabitants at the upper settlement, was de- 
livered by him to the authority under which he was 
imprisoned, and, after some detention, restored to him. 
The immediate impression produced among the in- 
habitants of the settlement by this circumstance, may 
appear from the further statement of Asahel Baker. 
He was the person employed to bring a representa- 
tion from them of the arrest of Baker, which was de- 
posited by him in the first post-office he reached in 
Kennebec. He was absent a number of days, and on 
his return, found that several of the inhabitants had de- 
4 



36 

parted. It appears that in the interim the alien tax 
had heen again demanded, and process had heen serv- 
ed upon the American settlers generally, similar to that 
which had heen previously served on the Aroostook 
indiscriminately, to appear at Fredcricton in October, 
to answer to suits for trespass and intrusion on crown 
lands, under the penalty of an hundred pounds. It is 
understood, that the service of this process was ex- 
tended to the American settlers toward the St. Francis 
and upon the Fish river, where the road laid out by 
the Legislatures of the two States terminates. In 
consequence of these circumstances it appears, that 
three of the American settlers, viz. Charles Stutson, 
Jacob Goldthvvraite, and Charles Smart, have parted 
with their possessions, and removed from the settle- 
ment into the plantation of Iloulton, where they are 
at present seeking subsistence. Stutson was a black- 
smith, in good business,and was concerned in the meas- 
ures relating to Mr. Morehouse. The motives and 
particulars of their departure are stated by them in 
their respective affidavits. In the precarious state of 
their affairs, it is probable that no certain estimate can 
be formed of their sacrifices 5 but it is evident that the 
measures made use of toward the inhabitants in gen- 
eral, for whatever purpose, have had the effect to expel 
a portion of them, and to intimidate the remainder. 
It is not understood that these measures have been 
extended to the French settlers on the Madawaska, 
who are without title to their lands, and it is probably 
not the case; but it is evident that a corresponding 
application of judicial proceedings has been made,from 
the province of New-Brunswick, upon all the settle- 
ments above and below the French occupation of Mad- 
awaska, tending to their extermination ; and that the 
inhabitants are awaiting, in a state of fearful anxiety, 
the final measures of execution, from which they 
see no prospect of relief. The plantation ot" Iloulton 
is the eommon place of refuge to which they direct 
their feet, as it was the custom in the earlier annals of 
\<\v-Fii"land for the frontier settlers, in case of ap- 
prehension, to gather toward a garrison. 



27 

In pursuing the inquiry concerning the nature of ag- 
gressions complained of as committed by inhabitants, 
it may not come within the terms of my appoint- 
ment to ascertain how far any proceedings that have 
been adopted, may be traced to the authority of the 
government of, New-Brunswick. The general appli- 
cation of judicial process, however, from the province 
of New-Brunswick to all parts of the settled territo- 
ry, comprehended in the claim of Great Britain, seems 
to give rise to such an inquiry. The summonses ser- 
ved on the settlers on the Aroostook and upon the St. 
John, from the Mariumticook to the Fish river and 
St. Francis, appear by comparison of numerous copies 
to be ail in the same form, for trespass and intrusion 
on crown lands. A copy of an information served on 
John Baker, since his imprisonment, describes the land 
of which he is in occupation, as lying within the par- 
ish of Kent, in the county of York. It may be there- 
fore pertinent to inquire into the history of the parish 
of Kent, and refer to other measures of the provincial 
government, preliminary to the abovementioned pro- 
cess. 

The act of incorporation of the parish of Kent, is 
dated 1821. It is entitled " An Act to erect the 
upper part of the County of York into a town or 
Parish," and provides, that " all that part of the 
county of York, lying above the parish of Wakefield, 
on both sides of the river St. John, be erected into 
a town or parish, by the name of Kent." The parish 
of Wakefield was incorporated in 1S0.3, by an act 
also entitled u An Act for erecting the upper part of 
the county of York into a distinct town or parish." 
A statistical account of New-Brunswick, published 
in Fredericton, in 1825, describes the parish of Kent 
as extending on both sides of the river, from the 
Grand Falls to Wakefield. The parish of Wakefield, 
it is understood, extended above the military post at 
Presque Isle, a station which was abandoned the 
year following the creation of the parish of Kent. 

A succinct statement may be made of the measures 
adopted by the government of New Brunswick the 



26 

present season. JBy an official act of the 9th of March 
last, reciting that satisfactory assurances had been 
conveyed to his Majesty's government of the earnest 
wish of the government of the United States to recip- 
rocate the conciliatory disposition shewn in regard to 
the disputed territory at the upper part of the river 
St. John, it was declared to be most desirable, until 
the present question thereto should be finally set- 
tled, that no new settlement should be made, or 
any timber or other trees felled in the wilderness 
parts of that territory, nor any act done which might 
change the state of the question as it existed, when 
the treaty of Ghent was executed. 

Instructions were accordingly issued, addressed, 
in general terms, to all magistrates residing in the 
vicinity of what was termed disputed territory, direct- 
ing them how to proceed, in the event of " any depre- 
dations being attempted, by either party, on the lands 
in question." They were required to be vigilant, and 
use their utmost diligence to discover any attempts 
which might be made by any of his Majesty's subjects 
to intrude upon the territory, with a view to make 
settlements, or to cut timber, and to make immediate 
representation thereof to his Majesty's Attorney 
General, that legal steps might be taken to punish 
such intruders and trespassers. And should they 
discover " similar attempts to be made by any other 
person, whether unauthorized, or acting under color 
of authority," to use their best Endeavors to ascertain 
the names of such persons, and report them to the 
Secretary of the Province, with affidavits to establish 
the facts, for the Lieutenant Governor's considera- 
tion. 

Information of these proceedings was communica- 
ted to the government of the United States by the 
British Minister, in September last, as furnishing 
proof of the friendly disposition which animated the 
Lieutenant Governor ol 'New-Brunswick* Mr. Clay 
was at the same time informed by Mr. Vaughan, that 
no attempt had ever been made to form new settle- 
ments, and that the Lieutenant Governor had abstain- 



29 

ed from exercising any authority over the unoccupied 
parts of the disputed territory, except for the purpose 
of preserving it in its present state ; and assured Mr. 
Clay that it was the wish and the duty of the Lieuten- 
ant Governor to avoid giving the slightest uneasiness 
to the government of the United States, on the terri- 
tory which had unfortunately remained so long in dis- 
pute between the two governments. 

The letter of the British Minister to Mr. Glajy of 
September 17th, is in answer to a communication 
from the Secretary of State, conveying a representa- 
tion from your Excellency to the government of the 
United States, respecting certain acts of the govern- 
ment of New-Brunswick, which were considered an 
undue exercise of jurisdiction in the settlement on the 
river St. John, composed of the grantees under Mas- 
sachusetts and Maine, and other American settlers. 
In his answer to this communication, the British 
Minister observes, that " it appears from Governor 
Lincoln's statement that the settlement in question 
is a British settlement upon the river St. John, west- 
ward of the Madawaska ; and that it is composed of 
the original settlers, and of emigrants from the United 
States." 

In what manner the settlement west of the Mada- 
waska can be considered a British settlement, can only 
be explained by a subsequent passage in the same let- 
ter, in which the British Mini ter says, that " ever 
since the province of New- Brunswick was established, 
in the year 17S4,the territory in dispute (between Great 
Britain and the United States,) has always been con- 
sidered as forming part of it ; and the rights of sove- 
reignty have in consequence been exercised by the 
British government." He therefore protests against 
the validity of any title to lands in the ancient British 
settlements, granted by the States of Maine or Mas- 
sachusetts, " until a change in the right of possession 
shall have been effected, in consequence of the fifth 
article of the treaty of Ghent." 

To support this position, the British Minister refers 
to a map of Nova Scotia, published by the Board of 



30 

Trade in 1755, including the territory in dispute in 
the province of Nova Scotia; by a map of this terri- 
tory, published by order of the British House of Com- 
mons, 29th June, 18'i7, the territory in question is not 
include ! m the province of New-Brunswick. 

In a subsequent letter from the British minister to 
Mr Clay, dated Nov. 21, he speaks of the proceed- 
ings of the magistrates acting under the authority of his 
Britannic Majesty in the province of New -Brunswick, 
against two citizens of the United States, established 
in British settlements upon the rivers Aroostook and 
Madawaska." These proceedings, he observes, are 
supported by two affidavits, transmitted by your Ex- 
cellency, viz. one of " William Dalton, residing upon 
the Aroostook," and the other oT Jonathan Wilson 
relating "to the arrest at Woodstock upon the Mada- 
waska river, within 65 miles of Fredericton, of Mr. 
Baker, for having interrupted the passage of the mail 
from New- Brunswick to Canada." 

The British minister states to Mr. Clay, that the 
sovereignty and jurisdiction over the territory, claimed 
bv the British Commissioners according to the line 
laid down by them, running by Mars hill, comprehend- 
ing in that portion of the territory of New-Brunswick 
the rivers Aroostook and Madawaska, have conse- 
quently remained with Great Britain, having been in 
the occupation and possession of the Crown, previous- 
ly to the conclusion of the treaty of 1783; and that 
the opposite claim of the United States cannot furnish 
any pretext for an interference with, or an interrup- 
tion of the exercise of the jurisdiction within that ter- 
ritory, by magistrates acting under British authority, 
on the part of the citizens of the United States, who 
may choose to reside in those ancient settlements." 
He- adds, that he has already communicated to the 
Secretary of State sufficient proof of the decided 
resolution of his Majesty's Lieutenant Governor of 
New- Brunswick to maintain the disputed territory in 
the same state in which his Excellency received it, 
after the conclusion of the Treaty of Ghent ; and that 



31 

he is convinced that a mutual spirit of forbearance 
animates the genera) government of the United 
States. The British minister further acquaints Mr. 
Clay, that Sir Howard Douglas deems it his duty, 
as Lieutenant Governor, not to abandon any right of 
practical sovereignty, which has been exercised in the 
disputed territory,"which has been held, occupied and 
located, as British settlements," for any period within 
the past century, or even later. That, considering the 
conduct of Baker fit matter for cognizance of the law 
officers of the crown, his Excellency had directed the 
Attorney General to take such measures as he might 
deem necessary, to enforce the municipal law of the 
Province : And that there could be no grounds for 
complaint of an undue and illegal exercise of juris- 
diction, whatever motive there might be for remon- 
strance against the severity with which the laws 
might be executed. 

I take occasion to collect these details from the 
correspondence of the British Minister in this country 
and present them to your Excellency's attention, in 
order to exhibit the principles on which the acts in 
question may have been performed, and also because 
the conclusions which he deduces from them are so 
undeniable. The character of this avowal is so pe- 
remptory, that it puts an end to all ground of inquiry 
on the part of Maine ; as the position, thus taken on 
behalf of the British Government, extends to justify 
the exercise of every species of power for which a 
precedent can be found in the past century, or even 
the present ; and Maine has no right to find fault with 
the manner in which the laws of the Province may be 
executed in New-Brunswick. So remarkable a pro- 
position, however, is not well calculated to diminish 
our concern on account of the cause for which so large 
a proportion of territory may be withdrawn from the 
jurisdiction of the State ; although it may allay your 
surprise at the determination of the Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor of New-Brunswick to decline any intercourse 
with the Executive authority of the State, of the kind 



32 

that has heretofore existed between adjoining govern- 
ments. 

If it be the correct state of fact as thus represented, 
that the territory in question has ever continued in the 
occupation and possession of the British Crown since 
the Treaty of 1783, it affords a strong color unques- 
tionably to the claim insisted upon to the absolute 
sovereignty ; as in a dubious case of right, where lines 
have become obscured, an open, notorious, and exclu- 
sive possession, for a great length of time, in the pre- 
sence and without the reproof of an adverse claimant, 
must necessarily have great weight in determining the 
title : And the principle thus strongly assumed, gives 
an important aspect to the demand which has been 
made upon Maine and Massachusetts, under the form 
of the fifth article of the Treaty of Ghent. 

It is to be doubted, however, whether your Excel- 
lency will be able to discover evidence of the existence 
of any British settlement whatever within the Bound- 
ary of Maine. The act of undertaking to remove all 
the settlers upon the territory to which the British 
Government lays claim, except the French, as tres- 
passers and intruders, certainly does not tend to give 
any portion of the territory the character of a British 
settlement by reason of their residence. Whether the 
act establishing the Parish of Kent was intended to 
form a British settlement beyond the boundary, may 
depend upon the limits assigned to it; if it have any 
other than those of the disputed territory. 

The summonses to the settlers on the Aroostook 
were dated 19th of May, and served early in July, be- 
fore any movement of the Americans in the upper settle- 
ment on the St. J:;hn. On the I lth of August, Mr. 
Morehouse transmitted a list of American citizens 
settled on the river St. John, above the French 
settlements. The summonses to the latter, so far as 
seen, were dated Sept. 17ih. It is not known that 
thtr* was any one of the American occupants in that 
quarter, where all are American citizens, omitted in 
the process. Warrants were also out against Bacon 



33 

and Stetson, on charges similar to those against Baker, 
hut had not been executed. It is due to say that I 
derived-valuable benefit from Mr. Barrel), to whom 
I also endeavored to afford all the aid in my power. 
The result of this inquiry, from the justification ad- 
vanced, is that the government of New-Brunswick re- 
cognizes the acts committed by her magistrates, and 
adopts them in all their hearings. It is now perfectly 
understood, that the government of New- Brunswick 
claims to extend the laws of the province over a large 
portion of the territory of Maine. The operation is 
not merely left to inference. The design is not af- 
fected to be concealed. The pretension is publicly 
announced in official papers and communications, 
speaking the unequivocal language of the government. 
We have a frank exposition of the views which are 
entertained by the British Minister in this country, 
and the sentiments and spirit, which animate the Lieu- 
tenant Governor of New- Brunswick. The whole 
tract of country which has been the scene of late 
complaints, is challenged as being within the allegi- 
ance of His Britannic Majesty, under his sovereignty 
and jurisdiction, and subject to the municipal regula- 
tions and control of his government. No persons are 
considered as lawfully residing therein, except by the 
authoritv or sufferance of the Provincial Government. 
No inhabitants of this territory, whatever time they 
have been on, are deemed to be possessed of any es- 
tate therein, except by virtue of the province laws. 
No residents are entitled to acquire any rights in real 
estate, except British subjects. All other occupants 
of the soil are treated as trespassers and intruders. 
All other inhabitants are liable to the disabilities of 
aliens ; and to the restrictions imposed upon their ac- 
tions, intercourse, and industry, by the enactments of 
provincial legislation; and likewise in respect to the 
right of hearing arms. Every American citizen is 
required to report himself within two months after his 
arrival, to a regimental quarter-master, and is subject- 
ed to an annual assessment for the maintenance of the 
provincial militia. The residue of the territory, ex- 
5 



oeptuv: such small portions as may be parcelled out, 
is reserved as crown lands ; and trees are forbidden to 
be cut among the Royal Forests, upon the penalty of 
the provin •.*♦» Inns. Grants and licenses are withheld 
or suspended for profound considerations. In other 
respects the authority and laws of the province are 
put in active operation, and assorted in full vigor. 
Tins description is to be understood as applying to a 
large part of the State of Maine. 

The consequence is, that the class of cases con- 
cerning which the government of Maine is anxious to 
extend its inquiry, is not considered as coming within 
tbe scope of her constitutional care and cognizance. 
The individuals, on whose behalf her solicitude is ex- 
cited, are intruders upon lands not within the State of 
Maine. Although citizens of that State, they have 
pit themselves out of its power, and lay no longer 
c.aiin to its protection ; but are liable to be dealt w ith 
only according to the laws of New-Brunswick, and 
placed under its provincial police. This is the broad 
ground taken by the government of that province. 
While it is certain that no undue severity of motive 
can be attributed to the superior Executive of New- 
Brunswick, it is equally apparent that the provincial 
government undertakes to exercise in all respects the 
right* of the most incontestible jurisdiction. 

The facts are shortly these : Ciiizens of Maine and 
others, settled on lands, surveyed and granted by its 
authority, living within its ancient and long established 
limits, are subjected to the operation of foreign laws. 
These are applied to them in the ordinary course of 
civil process, in taking away their property, and also 
their persons. American citizens in this State are 
proceeded against as aliens, for sedition and other 
offences and misdemeanors against the crown of Great 
Britain ; and one of them, a grantee of Massachusetts^ 
and Maine, seized on the land granted, remains in 
prison on charges of that description. A portion of 
this State, of considerable magnitude, is thus actually 
incorporated into the adjoining province ; and his 
Excellency, the Lieutenant Governor, a person of 
great virtue, is unable from his situation, to afford 



35 

the explanations which these acts obviously require, 
except to those under whose orders he is placed, or 
with whom he is obliged to correspond. 

In begging leave to submit these circumstances to 
your Excellency's consideration, and requesting per- 
mission to refer to accompanying papers, I am sensible 
of the occasion there is to solicit your indulgence in 
performing the duty I owe to yourself and to the State. 
I have the honor to be, 

with the highest respect, 

Your Excellency's 
most obedient servant. 

(Signed) C. S. DAVEIS. 

His Excellency 

Governor Lincoln. 



STATE OF MAINE. 



i Resolve in relation to aggressions upon the North-Eastern 
Frontier of the State. 

Whereas the sovereignty of this State has been repeatedly 
f iolated by the acts of the agents and officers of the Govern- 
ment of the British Province of New Brunswick, and that 
government, by its agents and officers, has wantonly and in- 
juriously harrassed the citizens of this State, residing on the 
North Eastern frontier of the same, and within its limits, by 
assuming to exerci e jurisdiction over them, in issuing and 
executing civil and criminal process against them, by which 
their property has been seized, and some of them arrested and 
conveyed out of the State, and subjected to the operation of 
the laws of that Province ; in establishing military companies 
within the Territory of this State ; imposing fines for neglect 
of military duty ; imposing upon our said citizens an alien 
tax, and requiring payment of the same ; and Whereas, by the 
exercise of the aforesaid unwarranted acts of jurisdiction by the 
government of the said Province, some of our citizens have 
been deprived of their liberty, their property destroyed, many 
of them driven from their lands and dwellings, the tranquility 
and peace of all of them disturbed, and the settlement and 
population of that part of the State adjoining said Province, 
greatly retarded, if not wholly prevented: Therefore, 

Resolved, That the present is a crisis, in which the govern- 
ment and people of this State, have good cause to look to the 
government of the United States for defence and protection 
against foreign aggression. 

Resolved further, That if new aggressions shall be made by 
the government of the Province of New-Brunswick upon the 
territory of this State, and upon its citizens, and seasonable 
protection shall not be given by the United States, the Gover- 
nor be, and he hereby is requested to use all proper and con- 
stitutional means in his power, to protect and defend the citi- 
zens aforesaid in the enjoyment of their rights. 

Resolved further, That, in the opinion of this Legislature, the 
Executive of the United States ought, without delay, to de- 
mand of the British Government the immediate restoration of 
John Baker, a citizen of this State, who has been seized by 
the officers of the Province of New-Brunswick, within the 
territory of the State of Maine, and by them conveyed to 
Fredericton, in said Province, where he is now confined in 
prison : and te take snch measures as will effect his early 
release 



Resolved further, That the Governor be, and he hereby 
is, authorized and requested, witli the advice and consent 
of Council, from time to time, to extend to the family of the 
said John Baker, such relief as shall be deemed necessary ; 
and he is hereby authorized to draw his warrant on the Trea- 
sury for such sum or sums as shall be required for that pur- 
pose. 

In the House of Representatives, Feb. 16, 1828. 
Read and passed 

JOHN RUGGLES, Speaker. 
Attest, James L. Child, Clerk. 

In Senate, February 18, 1828. 
Read and passed. 

ROBERT P. DUNLAP, President. 
Attest, Ebenezer Hutchinson, Sec^ry. 
February 18, 1828 — Approved. 

ENOCH LINCOLN. 



j 08 



